Eager to share in the swelling profits of Japan Inc., unions are growing more aggressive in this year's "shunto" annual wage negotiations, seeking pay raises higher than those won a year ago.
But highlighting the need for companies to stay internationally competitive, Tadashi Okamura, vice chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), stressed that higher profits would not automatically translate into pay raises.
"If companies attribute positive earnings to short-term factors and regard themselves as still lacking international competitiveness, workers should be rewarded with bonuses and one-time allowances," Okamura, also chairman of Toshiba Corp., said in a recent interview.