TOKYO -- Major Japanese manufacturers like Hitachi and Panasonic Holdings largely met the wage demands of their unions in annual spring labor negotiations, but whether this pay spike signals broader growth to come remains an open question.
The Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions, to which many big manufacturing unions belong, said all of its 50 member groups that received responses from companies by 5 p.m. Wednesday won increases in base monthly pay, with 86% getting the full amount they had sought.
