The weighted average daily minimum wage set by the government for each industrial sector grew 0.76 percent, or 45 yen, to 5,989 yen in fiscal 2000 the lowest increase in a decade, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Thursday. Growth was 0.95 percent in fiscal 1999.
One of the ministry's predecessors, the Labor Ministry, began compiling the statistics in fiscal 1990. Mandatory daily minimum wages are set by the ministry at the request of labor unions and management.
In fiscal 2000, the ministry set daily wage floors for 248 industrial sectors, affecting 4.5 million workers.