Japan's minimum wage to exceed Korea's for first time 2 years

Japan’s minimum wage is set to surpass Korea’s for the first time in two years following a record increase approved by a government council.

An image of Japanese yen banknotes [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Japan’s minimum wage is set to surpass Korea’s for the first time in two years following a record increase approved by a government council.

According to the Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun on Monday, Japan’s Central Minimum Wage Council under the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare decided to raise the national average hourly minimum wage from 1,055 yen ($7) to 1,118 yen — a 63 yen hike.

That’s approximately a 6 percent increase, the highest rate since the current adjustment method was introduced in 2002.

Minimum wages in Japan vary by region, and local wage councils in each prefecture will adjust accordingly based on the central council’s guidelines.

The highest minimum wage currently is in Tokyo at 1,163 yen, while the lowest is in Akita Prefecture at 951 yen. If all prefectures raise wages in line with the new standard, even the lowest minimum wage will exceed 1,000 yen.

These regional adjustments rarely deviate significantly from the central recommendation and will take effect sequentially starting in October.

Based on the exchange rate as of 9 p.m. Monday, Japan’s new national average minimum wage of 1,118 yen is roughly 181 won higher than Korea’s 2026 minimum wage of 10,320 won ($7.40) per hour.

Korea’s Minimum Wage Commission decided on July 10 to raise next year’s minimum wage by 290 won, or 2.9 percent, from the current 10,030 won.

Korea’s minimum wage had surpassed Japan’s starting in 2023, largely due to the depreciation of the yen. However, Japan’s steeper increase this year has reversed the gap.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters on Monday that the government would provide targeted support to municipalities that raise wages above the national guideline, saying he would “mobilize all policy tools to support wage growth.”

The Japanese government aims to raise the national average minimum wage to 1,500 yen by the end of 2029. According to Nikkei, achieving that goal would require an average annual increase of 7.3 percent.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY BAE JAE-SUNG [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]