The labor ministry's Central Minimum Wages Council kicks off a meeting to discuss raising the minimum wage benchmark on June 22. (Sawa Okabayashi)
An advisory council to the labor ministry is discussing a possible change in the legal minimum wage for the current fiscal year. The council did not set a minimum wage target for the last fiscal year, which ended in March, due to the economic repercussions of the novel coronavirus pandemic, effectively allowing the rate to remain unchanged.
Many of those working for minimum wages or a rate close to the pay floor are supporting services essential for people’s daily lives, such as distribution, retail and welfare.