Major Japanese Firms’ Summer Bonuses Hit Record High

June 15, 2018

Tokyo- Summer bonuses at major Japanese companies hit a record high of 967,386 yen on average this year, up 6.7 pct from a year earlier, an initial tally by a leading business lobby showed Thursday.

The growth apparently reflected rosy corporate earnings as well as a request by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for an annual pay increase of at least 3 pct.

The initial tally covered 96 member companies of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren.

The group is scheduled to release a final tally in late July. The survey began in 1959.

Bonuses average 955,680 yen at 91 manufacturers, up 6.4 pct, and 1,166,540 yen at five nonmanufacturers, up 10.6 pct.

Only two of the 14 industry sectors surveyed see their average bonuses falling, with a 0.5 pct decrease in cement and a 4.5 pct drop in paper-pulp.

The construction sector led the pack with an average bonus of 1,573,957 yen, as the industry comes under pressure to raise pay to meet increased demand related to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as to respond to labor shortages.

The auto sector came second with 1,061,566 yen, followed by the chemical sector with 939,775 yen.

A Keidanren official said bonuses are expected to remain on an upward trend unless an economic crisis as large as the global financial crisis of 2008 occurs. Jiji Press