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Keidanren plans to ask companies for a pay hike on an annual income basis that includes a pay-scale increase and regular pay raises as well as allowances and a bonus.

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Sadayuki Sakakibara, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren). The government is calling on Keidanren to bring about successive pay hikes in order to help pull the country out of deflation. (Yomiuri Shimbun)

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I don't really know if I have ever bought this deflation line. Perhaps from the point of view of the rich who have seen some discretionary purchases decrease in price but from 2001 I saw either the prices of most of the things the poor buy on a daily basis rise or the portions were cut and never restored. Perhaps a few eateries got cheaper but only by replacing what they had before with mass-produced, adulterated and flavourings-laden alternatives. And who eats out that often anyway?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This is what happens when you "reform" labor laws and take power away from labor unions.

The companies don't seem to realize that workers are also consumers. If they get paid little, they spend little, and so those companies eventually go out of business from the depressed demand....unless of course the govt steps in to bail them out.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

This is what happens when you "reform" labor laws and take power away from labor unions.

Except that there has been no labor reform, and no one has taken any power away from the unions.

The costs of labor regulations and unions increases the costs of goods and services. And in a global economy were companies have to produce the best products at the lowest price, highly regulated and unionized industries cannot compete. And since they can't compete, they eventually close down, and people end up having no jobs at all.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

"Except that there has been no labor reform...."

Yes there has. 2 big amendments to the labor standards law in the last few years, in case you weren't paying attention.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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