Incomes in Japan are forecast to rise once again in inflation-adjusted terms if the yen continues to strengthen, finally bringing to an end a record-setting and demoralizing decline in real pay.
The Japan Research Institute anticipates real wage growth turning positive in the July-September quarter assuming ¥155 to the dollar. On Wednesday, the currency broke that level and kept going, staging a dramatic comeback from the nearly ¥162 level in early July.
“It seems most plausible that the yen’s weakness is at its peak now and the currency will begin to appreciate,” said Shinichi Nishioka, a senior researcher at the Japan Research Institute.