TOKYO -- Business executives and labor union leaders across Japan kicked off negotiations to set wages for the new fiscal year, with continued inflation and strong corporate earnings raising hopes for the largest pay hike in three decades.
The Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren, the country's largest business lobby, held its annual labor and management forum in Tokyo on Wednesday. In a video message, Chairman Masakazu Tokura said that companies "have a social responsibility" to raise wages so that they keep up with inflation.
