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July 01, 2026
 

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KEIDANREN

More than 70% of small and midsize companies said they have raised or plan to raise wages in fiscal 2026.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2026
Smaller firms in Japan raise pay by 4.29% in fiscal 2026
Wage growth expanded from 4.03% a year before, reflecting employers’ continued efforts to secure human resources amid rising inflation.
Keidanren head Yoshinobu Tsutsui speaks at the business lobby's annual general meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 4, 2026
Keidanren chief calls for boosting Japan’s growth potential
Yoshinobu Tsutsui says the country needs to build an “investment-driven economy” through corporate capital spending, research and development investment and wage hikes.
Reiko Akiike, co-chair of Boston Consulting Group Japan, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on May 26. Akiike will become vice chair of the Japan Business Federation, the country's largest business lobby, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 2, 2026
Boston Consulting Group exec urges Japan to clarify purpose of investment
Reiko Akiike, co-chair of Boston Consulting Group Japan, says she has strong expectations for investment in areas including AI, semiconductors and quantum technology.
Keidanren Vice Chair Hideki Kobori speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 13, 2026
Keidanren proposes setting up fiscal institution in parliament
Japan’s biggest business lobby envisions the body to provide a basis for discussions on comprehensive tax, fiscal and social security reforms in the country.
Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, delivers a speech at the Keidanren labor management forum in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2026
Full wage talks start in Japan with labor management forum
Pay hikes have yet to catch up with inflation in Japan, with real wages extending their losing streak to 11 months as of November.
Japan’s largest trade union federation, Rengo, was seeking a wage increase of at least 5% as wage talks between unions and employers kicked off Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 27, 2026
Japan business lobby warns of tariff impact as wage talks start
The head of Japan’s biggest business lobby said he expects businesses to maintain wage hike momentum to a certain extent during the talks despite some “clearly very tough factors.”
Keidanren Chairman Yoshinobu Tsutsui (left), Ken Kobayashi (center), head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Keizai Doyukai Chairman Akio Yamaguchi at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2026
Japanese business leaders positive about continuing wage hikes
One of the key challenges in upcoming negotiations is to extend the trend of significant wage increases beyond large companies.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a meeting with business lobby Keidanren in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 25, 2025
Ueda signals further hikes with more confidence over price goal
The remarks underscore investor expectations that the bank isn’t done with hikes even after it raised borrowing costs to the highest level since 1995 last Friday.
This year’s winter bonuses at large companies in Japan topped ¥1 million.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 25, 2025
Major Japan firms’ winter-bonus average tops ¥1 million
The average rose 8.57% from a year before, up for the fourth consecutive year, according to a survey conducted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren.
Masakazu Tokura, the current chairman of Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, addresses a news conference in May 2021. The organization and others have underscored that economic security requires sustained public-private collaboration to align profit-driven business decisions with national security priorities.  
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 24, 2025
A new era requires new public-private partnerships
Governments need an accurate understanding of the realities of business operations,
Among Keidanren member firms traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's top-tier section, the proportion of female executives rose by 2.2 points to 19.0%, reaching the government's 2025 interim target.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2025
Share of female execs at major Japan firms rises to 18.4%
The figure remained below the government’s target of increasing the share of female executives at companies on the Prime section to at least 19% by 2025.
The fourth consecutive year of increase came after many firms raised their monthly wages this spring and as a result of solid earnings mainly among manufacturers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2025
Summer bonuses at major Japan firms hit record
The fourth consecutive year of increase came after many firms raised their monthly wages this spring and as a result of solid earnings mainly among manufacturers.
The average wage hike rate among major Japanese firms this year hit 5% for the second straight year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 7, 2025
Major Japan firms set record with pay hikes above 5% for second year
This year’s average raise of 5.39% was the second biggest since comparable data became available in 1976.
Yoshinobu Tsutsui (left), who is expected to become the new Keidanren chairman, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on March 25, as the current chairman, Masakazu Tokura, looks on.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 23, 2025
Keidanren to install first leader from financial sector
The post of Keidanren chairman has traditionally been held by leaders from the manufacturing sector.
Some 620,000 workers at 97 major companies affiliated with the Japan Business Federation saw average pay raises of 5.38%.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2025
Japan’s largest business lobby reports pay hikes exceeding 5%
Some 620,000 workers at 97 major companies affiliated with the Japan Business Federation saw average pay raises of 5.38%.
Members of a Liberal Democratic Party panel discuss proposals about allowing spouses to retain their respective surnames, in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2025
Eternal debate over surname law comes to fore again
Since last October’s general election, momentum has picked up for a legislative change to allow married couples to retain different surnames.
Japanese business leaders, including Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura (front, left), meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (front, center) in Beijing on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 18, 2025
Japanese business leaders meet with Chinese vice premier
Vice Premier He said that there is a global rise in conservatism and unilateralism, apparently keeping in mind the additional U.S. tariffs on imports from China.
Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura hailed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump as successful.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 11, 2025
Japan’s business community expresses relief after the Ishiba-Trump summit
Uncertainty about the future remains, however, as Trump mentioned his eagerness to eliminate the U.S. trade deficit with Japan.
Spring negotiations in 2024 resulted in salaries rising by over 5% on a whole, but hikes at small and midsized companies, which account for some 70% of Japan's employment, were far lower than the average.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2025
Japan’s spring wage talks begin with labor-management forum
Rengo, the umbrella organization for labor unions, is seeking an overall wage hike of at least 5%.
"The public and private sectors need to work as one to realize (Keidanren's) targets," Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a joint meeting of the public and private sectors to expand domestic investment, held on Monday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 28, 2025
Keidanren sets ¥200 trillion capital spending target for fiscal 2040
The target was unveiled at a joint meeting of the public and private sectors to expand domestic investment.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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