Japanese workers faced another decline in real wages in August, marking the eighth straight month of falling income as inflation continued to outpace nominal pay growth. According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, inflation-adjusted real wages dropped 1.4% from a year earlier — the sharpest fall in three months — following a revised 0.2% decrease in July.
Despite inflation easing slightly, it remains above the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) 2% target, where it has hovered for over three years. The consumer inflation rate used for wage calculations, which includes fresh food but excludes rent, rose 3.1% year-on-year in August, the lowest in ten months. However, this was still higher than the 1.5% increase in nominal wages, pushing real earnings lower and weakening household purchasing power.
Total cash earnings averaged 300,517 yen ($1,994) in August. Regular pay rose 2.0%, matching the pace of previous months, but special payments such as bonuses plunged 10.5%. A labour ministry official explained that many companies were unable to provide the same level of summer bonuses as last year, though August’s figures tend to be volatile since most bonuses are distributed in June and July.
Overtime pay — a key measure of business activity — rose just 1.3% in August, slowing from a revised 3.0% gain in July.
While the BOJ left interest rates unchanged in its latest meeting, officials remain optimistic that wage growth will continue into next year. However, uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policies and their potential impact on Japanese businesses adds another layer of complexity to Japan’s fragile economic recovery.