Beverage company Suntory Holdings said Thursday that it will raise the monthly wages of its employees by about 7% in 2025, including a pay scale hike.

Suntory will carry out a 7% raise for the third straight year after agreeing on that level of pay increase, including a pay scale boost, with its labor union in shuntō spring wage negotiations in 2023 and 2024.

"By raising salaries continuously, we hope that our employees will continue to work with a sense of fulfillment even in the face of rising prices and an uncertain business environment," President Takeshi Niinami said in a statement.

Last year, Suntory announced its substantial pay rise ahead of other companies, setting the tone for wage hikes in 2024 wage talks at various companies.

Suntory aims to secure human resources by taking the lead in announcing a wage rise again this year.

In this year's shuntō, Suntory agreed to fully meet a request for a monthly pay scale hike of ¥13,000 from the labor side, its biggest amount in 20 years.