This year's Regional Minimum Wages Council report
In our earlier issues, we have already reported that Japan's minimum wage system comprises two programs, namely, region-specific and industry-specific programs, and that deferment of wage hikes was recommended for the first time two years ago. Report by the Regional Minimum Wages Council on the region-specific minimum wage was released.
In line with this report, a period for soliciting and receiving comments was set up in August, and the amount will be officially determined at a meeting of the Central Minimum Wages Council to be held in October.
Regarding hourly wages, various councils responded with proposals to raise the existing amount by 1 to 2 yen. Of the total of 47 regions nationwide, Tokyo had the highest hourly rate of 710 yen, followed by Yokohama at 708 yen and Osaka, 704 yen. The lowest rate was 606 yen seen in seven prefectures, including Aomori, Nagasaki and Okinawa.
Nagano prefecture had a minimum wage of 646 yen. The Federation of Nagano Workers' Unions (Nagano-ken Roren) carried out an experiment in which fourteen members of its affiliated unions were asked to experience living on this minimum wage rate. The Federation also used the "standard cost of living" which the National Personnel Authority calculates as the standard level of living for the Japanese people in general, to come up with a hypothetical monthly income amount of slightly over 122,000 yen, and asked two other union members to try living on this amount. The Federation has since released their findings.
The amount of income, assuming that a person works 8 hours a day 22 days a month, was slightly over 113,600 yen. After deducting taxes, insurance premiums, rent, utilities and other fees, disposable income came to approximately 30,000 ～ 48,000 yen. A total of four participants were able to live within this limit. Of these four, a 24-year-old female municipal organization worker who left the most amount of money--393 yen--said that she tried to economize when dining out with friends and used public transport instead of driving. She added, however, that she found it impossible to continue living like this any longer. The remaining three had between 100 yen and 300 yen left, but some said that they decided to do without haircuts.
Unsurprisingly, Nagano-ken Roren used this experiment as grounds to ask for a sharp increase in the minimum wage. Earlier, at this year's spring joint labor negotiations, the National Confederation of Trade Unions, or Zenroren, had demanded across-the-board hourly pay of 1,000 yen or more to be applied to all workers. Some members on the management side, on the other hand, felt that minimum wages should be lowered rather than raised in response to the recent downward trend in wages.
US$=\109 (September 1, 2004)
