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JOBS

Leaders of Keidanren and labor unions officially started annual spring wage negotiations on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2024
Japanese firms and unions kick off wage talks as markets bet on bigger pay hikes
Japan's big firms are expected to offer their unions wage hikes of 3.85% on average this year, the highest wage increase in 31 years.
Coming out of the pandemic, job vacancies were historically high in the U.S. because firms needed workers and could not find them.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2024
This year will mark the end of the post-pandemic economy
The trade-off between bringing down inflation and harming growth will come back with a vengeance in the post-pandemic economy.
Kishida speaks at a meeting with leaders of Japanese Trade Union Confederation and Japan Business Federation on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2024
With meetings, Japan leader amplifies call for wage hikes at small firms
Dissatisfaction over falling real wages has been one of the factors undermining the prime minister's support rate, which remained under 30% in a series of recent polls.
Farmers protest against the government's planned cuts to agricultural sector subsides in Brandenburg, Germany, on Jan. 10.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2024
Why Germany is rich but Germans are poor and angry
Germany's polarization peaks as the country's divided society faces economic turmoil.
Tokyu Bus Corp. President Takashi Furukawa wants to set a precedent for fellow bus operators that are in desperate need of drivers, drawing on his experience working in Vietnam, where he once helped introduce Japanese know-how in running transportation services.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 20, 2024
Tokyo bus operator banks on foreign drivers as shortage looms
Tokyu Bus Corp. President Takashi Furukawa wants to set a precedent for fellow bus operators that are in desperate need of drivers.
Skilled workers walk to a building for a skill test at a Haryana state government recruitment drive to send workers to Israel, at Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, India, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2024
Undeterred by conflict, Indian workers seek jobs in Israel
Masons, painters, electricians, plumbers and farmers say they could make five times more money in a year than they would at home.
Houses damaged by the New Year's Day quake in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2024
Measures set out to keep foreign trainees in work in quake-hit areas
The special measure was introduced after a deadly temblor rocked the Noto Peninsula and its vicinity in central Japan on New Year's Day.
At stake in this year's spring negotiations between trade unions and large Japanese firms, analysts say, is whether wages will rise far enough to ignite the sustainable inflation that policymakers consider a prerequisite for ending negative interest rates.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2024
Japan's top business lobby calls for worker pay raises above inflation
The call sets the tone for annual wage talks that may pave the way for the Bank of Japan to exit its ultraeasy monetary policy.
Takashimaya's managing director, Kazuhisa Yokoyama, holds a news conference on Dec. 27 in Tokyo to address the issue of damaged Christmas cakes that were delivered to hundreds of customers.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 16, 2024
Collapsed cakes and the price of perfection in Japan
As its labor crunch worsens, Japan might see more cases of skimping or slipshod quality.
Eleven of 21 sectors surveyed saw increases in winter bonus payments at major Japanese firms.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 13, 2024
Winter bonuses at major Japan firms see modest rise
The average increased for the second year in a row, though at a slower pace than the 7.77% growth marked in winter 2022.
Japanese workers' real wages kept shrinking for a 20th month in November, raising fresh alarm for the sustainability of the country's economic recovery as firms enter the period of annual pay negotiations with labor unions.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2024
Japan’s slower wage growth adds to reasons for BOJ to hold
Nominal cash earnings for workers rose 0.2% from the previous year, decelerating sharply from a 1.5% increase in October, the labor ministry said.
Japan's labor productivity per person in 2022 was the lowest calculated among the Group of Seven advanced economies since 1970, according to a report by the Japan Productivity Center.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2024
Japan's labor productivity ranked 30th among 38 OECD members in 2022
Measured by the worth of goods or services a worker can produce per hour, labor productivity totaled $52.30 in Japan.
Office workers in the Central district in Hong Kong on Nov. 20
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2024
Hong Kong workers demand 6% raise to return to office fully
In a survey, 27% of people asked for a raise if their employers required them to work in the office five days a week.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a New Year’s event hosted by Rengo, the nation’s biggest trade union federation, in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 6, 2024
Kishida and Rengo chief amplify push for strong wage growth
Wage gains feeding into demand-led price gains are a condition for any move to normalize monetary policy.
Tsumugi-nen is artificial intelligence talent agency Pictoria's most popular AI Vtuber that has garnered thousands of fans through her content, including streaming for five days straight — something a human can not do.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 5, 2024
Is AI a friend or foe of the Japanese entertainment industry?
While proponents tap the technology's potential, others are worried about the possibility of losing their jobs.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s new plant nears completion in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 1, 2024
Competitive pay at TSMC plant may ripple across Japan and beat inflation
The chipmaker's compensation packages can serve as a wakeup call to manufacturers in other regions of the country, economists say.
The Alumy website, which offers a service for companies that want to connect with individuals who have quit their jobs
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 31, 2023
More Japanese companies move to rehire former employees
Previously, it had been widely believed that quitting a job means completely severing the relationship with the employer.
Erin Lim, CEO of baby products company Konny, in front of her company's new office in Seoul. Early starts and late finishes to workdays are routine in South Korea, a country notorious for its hard-driving corporate culture, but Erin Lim knew she wanted to do things differently at her business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2023
South Korean mother's office-free firm sparks hope amid birthrate woes
South Korea has some of the world's lowest birth rates, and despite government incentives many women choose not to become mothers.
Disney characters perform on a float during a parade at Tokyo Disneyland in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 26, 2023
Court rejects damages claim by ex-Tokyo Disneyland performer
The former performer said she had suffered work-related injuries and that the company had failed to fulfill its duty of care.
An electronic board displays various companies' share prices at a business district in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 26, 2023
Japan’s labor demand holds steady in positive sign for wages
The job-to-applicants ratio eased a tad to 1.28, meaning there were 128 jobs offered for every 100 applicants, the labor ministry reported.

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