Japan's real wages rise 2.4 pct in July, up for 7th month

TOKYO, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan's inflation-adjusted real wages in July rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier, up for the seventh consecutive month, government data showed Tuesday.

People cross a street at Shinjuku area in Tokyo on Aug 25, 2025. (PHOTO: AFP)

Nominal wages, or the average monthly cash earnings per worker including base salary and overtime pay, increased 4.7 percent to 436,401 yen (about 2,830 U.S. dollars), marking the sixth straight month of growth exceeding 3 percent and the first such streak in more than 34 years, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The growth was driven by a 6.3 percent rise in special earnings to 134,819 yen, as this year's robust wage negotiations fed through to higher pay.

The recent wage increases come after Japan saw real wages decline for 12 straight months from January 2025.