TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan's December inflation-adjusted real wages rose 0.6% year on year thanks to a winter bonus bump, preliminary government data showed Wednesday, with officials expressing optimism that wage hike momentum is growing.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sees strong wage growth as key to supporting a fragile economic recovery, while the Bank of Japan has said sustained, broad-based wage hikes are a prerequisite for pushing up borrowing costs.
