Due to rising inflation, the recent decision to hike the average minimum wage appears set to offer little or no advance to the real quality of life for low-income Japanese. This comes in spite of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s economic policy theme of “New Capitalism,” which is supposed to create a fairer society by enhancing the living standards of ordinary citizens.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are now past. This is a postmortem.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on May 31, 2019.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on January 31, 2019.
Japan’s aging population has led to a decline in the workforce and the Abe government has determined that the best solution is to import foreign workers, but the administration is remarkably clear about the specifics of what it is proposing.
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).
Foreign fast food and casual dining companies are ready to take a bite out of Japan’s food market, in spite of the country’s hampering tax hikes and reports about the struggles of major players like McDonald’s. In quick succession at the start of this year, a string of overseas companies, mainly American, announced that they would enter the Japanese market.
