Japan Auto Unions to Seek Inflation-Beating Pay Hikes

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., Sept. 4 (Jiji Press)–The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Unions, or JAW, has affirmed its plan to seek large-scale pay hikes outpacing inflation in next year’s “shunto” spring labor-management negotiations. The policy was confirmed at the JAW’s regular meeting held in Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, on Thursday. At a press conference ahead of the meeting, Akihiro Kaneko, president of the group of labor unions at automotive companies, said that the group “aims to make real wage growth take root and beef up its efforts for higher (wage increases).” Kaneko also said the JAW will demand improvements in working conditions, including an increase in holidays. The environment for the 2027 shunto is not improving, he said, underscoring the need to work on raising productivity to help resolve issues such as labor shortages and sudden changes in the business environment. The 2026 shunto negotiations in the automotive industries resulted in an average monthly base pay and regular wage hike of 12,932 yen, the highest since 1976, according to data released by the JAW the same day. The year-on-year pay hike rate came to 4.81 pct. Real wages, which had been falling for several years for workers in their 40s and older, rose in all age groups. Kaneko praised the outcome as a “major achievement.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]