Minimum wage could be raised to 755 yen per hour
Mainichi reports that the government is considering raising the minimum wage from 687 yen per hour to 755 yen per hour:
The government is set to submit the proposal on Friday to a round-table committee comprising of representatives from business and labor circles, and the government.
[...]
Regional councils determine the minimum levels of wages in their respective areas based on the target set by the Central Minimum Wages Council. Opinions expressed by the round-table committee have huge influence on a decision on the minimum wage target set by the central council.
The government is seeking to raise the minimum wage, which has been calculated based on the level of livelihood protection of welfare benefits to the level of the minimum starting salary for high school graduates. The national average of the minimum starting salary for high school graduates came to 755 yen per hour in 2007.
For those interested, here’s a quick little chart that compares Japan’s national minimum wage to the legal minimum wages in several other countries (currencies have been converted to yen, and local minimum wage laws are not included):
| Japan | 687 yen per hour |
| U.K. | 1,164 yen per hour |
| France | 1,411 yen per hour |
| United States | 630 yen per hour |
| Taiwan | 369 yen per hour |
| South Korea | 365 yen per hour |
[A chart with many more countries and a comparison of minimum wage to GDP can be found on Wikipedia.]
And here’s a chart from N-H-K showing growth in the minimum wage from 2000 to 2007:
