Smaller firms in Japan raised wages by 4.29 percent in fiscal 2026, up from 4.03 percent the previous year.
The wage growth reflects employers' continued efforts to secure human resources amid rising inflation. The increase is being tracked as a key indicator for the Japanese economy and jobs market.
Many major Japanese companies have agreed in full to unions' pay hike demands in this year's shunto negotiations. Close attention is on whether this momentum will spread to small companies, which employ about 70% of Japan's workers.
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Japan's headline consumer price index rose 1.5% year-on-year in March, up from 1.3% in February and above the 1.4% market consensus. Core inflation, excluding fresh food, climbed to 1.8%, marking the first acceleration in five months. The data persists despite government subsidies aimed at curbing prices.