SNA (Tokyo) — Protesters gathered in the Shibuya district of Tokyo on October 2. They want McDonald’s to raise its minimum wage to 1,500 yen per hour (about US$13).

Amazon recently raised its minimum wage to US$15. This came after Amazon was criticized by US Senator Bernie Sanders.

Bernie Sanders: I want to congratulate Mr. Bezos for doing exactly the right thing. Today he has raised the minimum wage at Amazon and Whole Food, effective next month. He has raised that minimum wage to $15 a hour and that applies not only to full-time workers at Amazon, but to part-time workers and temporary workers as well.

Makoto Kawazoe: As it is in the rest of the world, the wages in the fast food industry are extremely low. Japan’s minimum wage, too, is very low. People make only 2,000,000 yen (about US$17,000) a year and so they are the “working poor.” So our movement calls for a minimum wage of 1,500 yen per hour. Today we making a call to the workers of American fast food companies. We are calling for the improvement of working conditions in the fast food industry globally. That’s why we’ve gathered out here in Shibuya.

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