Japan Press Weekly

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2014 July 16 - 22 [LABOR]

Japanese workers’ lifetime income keeps on declining

While Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s government is carrying on active propaganda praising its economic policy dubbed “Abenomics”, Japan’s workers’ earnings have been declining.

The latest Basic Survey on Wage Structure released by the Labor Ministry shows that the average annual income of all workers dramatically dropped in 2013 in all age groups compared to the peak in 1997.

In terms of the age group between 50 and 54, which is the highest in the “wage curve”, the average yearly income was 5.83 million yen in 2013, down by more than 500,000 yen from 6.38 million yen in 1997.

In the age bracket between 35 and 39, it dropped by 800,000 yen during the same time period from 5.55 million yen to 4.75 million yen.

As a result, workers’ lifetime income (for 45 years between the age of 20 and 64) decreased by 21.6 million yen in 2013 from the 1997 level.

In order to pull the Japanese economy out of the prolonged consumer recession, it is vital to raise the basic wage rate.

Past related article:
> Abenomics decreases jobs and income [July 9, 2014]