Japan Press Weekly

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2022 June 22 - 28 [LABOR]

Zenroren survey proves unions’ demand for minimum hourly wage increase to 1,500 yen has legitimacy

Facing the start of discussions at the Labor Ministry’s Central Minimum Wage Council regarding an increase in regional minimum hourly wages, the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) on June 24 held a press conference and released survey results indicating that the average 25-year-old unmarried worker needs to earn 1,600 yen an hour to cover the minimum costs of living no matter which prefecture they live in.

Zenroren officer Eto Koji noted that the central council’s discussions on this year’s minimum wage revision will begin in four days, and said, “Using the survey data, we will urge the council to realize a substantial increase in regional minimum wages, an end to regional minimum wage gaps, and the provision of financial support to smaller businesses as a set.”

The latest survey revealed that in Hyogo, for example, a living wage for 25-year-old unmarried male and female workers to meet their basic needs is 1,626 yen an hour and 1,582 yen an hour, respectively. In Kochi, 1,665 yen per hour is necessary for men and 1,669 yen for women. These figures are not so different from Tokyo’s 1,664 yen for men and 1,642 yen for women.

Zenroren-affiliated Kochi Prefectural Federation of Trade Unions (Kochi-roren) officer Maki Kosei said, “Kochi’s regional minimum wage is 820 yen, the lowest in Japan. Compared with the highest one which is Tokyo’s 1,041 yen, there is a 221-yen difference in hourly wages, amounting to 410,000 yen a year. However, as shown by the Zenroren survey, there is no difference in the amount of the minimum income necessary to live in Kochi and Tokyo.”

An officer of the Zenroren-affiliated Hyogo Prefectural Federation of Trade Unions (Hyogo-roren), Doi Naoki said, “As Hyogo’s regional minimum wage is lower than that in the neighboring prefecture of Osaka, Hyogo is experiencing the outflow of population represented by the fact that two-thirds of college students will go Osaka after their graduation to find a job.”

Associate Professor of University of Shizuoka Junior College Nakazawa Shuichi, who supervised the Zenroren survey, said, “Considering that the cost of living has been pushed up by the price surge which began after the Zenroren survey was taken, workers whose income level is near the minimum wage level are facing even more severe financial difficulties.”