This year, the minimum wage in Hawaiʻi has gone up, and so have the salaries of some government employees.
But in Japan, pay is moving up much faster — and that may eventually have an impact here on the islands.
From automakers to service industries, some workers in Japan are getting their biggest raises in about 30 years.
Nippon Steel is boosting its base salaries by nearly 12%.
The average increase for workers at the parent company of All Nippon Airways is more than 5.5%— similar to the raises at Honda.
Wage negotiations are seasonal in Japan and this is the time of year when those discussions are usually settled.
Real wages have been stagnant in Japan for the past 20 years, and the pay increases announced recently are consistent for large companies across a number of industries.
Many smaller businesses are finding it more difficult to give the same level of raises.
One institution paying close attention to all of this is Japan’s central bank.
The Bank of Japan has not raised interest rates for more than 15 years, but higher wages are one factor that can give policymakers more reason to gradually increase them.
And here’s why that’s of local interest here in Hawai’i.
Higher interest rates in Japan are likely to push the yen’s value at least a bit higher against the dollar.
And along with those increased salaries, that could give Japanese vacationers a bit more incentive to plan travel to overseas destinations — potentially including Hawaiʻi.
