Japan’s real wages rise for third month to keep BOJ on hike path ^8%

The Japan Times - By Erica Yokoyama, Keiko Ujikane - 5/8/2026, 2:25 AM

Optimism Bias 26.6%

Japanese workers’ real wages rose in March for a third consecutive month, supporting the Bank of Japan’s case for further interest rate hikes even as the Middle East conflict clouds the economic outlook. Inflation-adjusted wages increased 1% from a year earlier, slowing from a revised 2% gain in February, the labor ministry reported... more