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Japan
Intelligence for Better Decision Making
Keidanren Issues 2026 Guidelines Calling for Standardized Base Pay Increases in Spring Wage Negotiations
Jan. 22, 2026 | FirmsJapan’s leading business federation Keidanren has issued its 2026 spring labor-management negotiation guidelines, urging companies to adopt base pay increases as the standard approach to wage growth.
**The guidelines shift from the 2025 report’s suggestion to merely consider base pay raises, recommending instead that firms take a medium- to long-term perspective on wage growth to secure positive real wages amid rising prices and interest rates.**
Chair Hitoshi Nagasawa stressed that raising workers’ wages will strengthen the Japanese economy, even as US tariffs and strained relations with China create external challenges. Keidanren pledges to promote wage increases, including base-up adjustments, provided no major crisis emerges, and emphasizes that companies can differentiate pay hikes according to job roles and individual contributions.
**In 2025 spring negotiations, large companies achieved an average wage increase of 5.39 percent, and Keidanren expects comparable or higher gains in 2026.**
Yet real wages have fallen for eleven consecutive months through November 2025, showing that nominal wage gains have not kept pace with inflation. Companies and government alike will need to pursue substantial pay rises alongside measures to curb price inflation.
**Recognizing that small and medium-sized enterprises employ roughly seventy percent of Japan’s workforce, the guidelines call for concrete steps to sustain wage growth in these firms.**
Keidanren urges large companies to support their SME suppliers through fair price negotiations and to assist them in personnel management and digitalization efforts, ensuring costs can pass through the supply chain.
Nagasawa expressed concern that cost pass-through remains inadequately implemented, and he urged companies to establish proper mechanisms to maintain momentum in wage increases and support economic stability.
**The 2026 spring labor offensive begins on January 27 with a meeting between Keidanren and Rengo chairmen.**
Keidanren notes that average wage increases at large firms have risen from 3.99 percent in 2023 to 5.58 percent in 2024 and 5.39 percent in 2025, even as real wages declined by 2.8 percent year-on-year in November 2025. This gap reflects the ongoing mismatch between wage growth and inflation.
**Aligning with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s call for a third consecutive year of around five percent wage hikes, Keidanren reaffirms its role in sustaining this momentum.**
While large companies have led substantial increases, SMEs have recorded average hikes of around four percent and now face signs of “wage-increase fatigue” as labor costs rise.
**To reverse the decline in real wages, the guidelines urge large firms to engage in good-faith price negotiations with SME contractors and reference the newly enacted Toritsugi Act, which mandates proper subcontracting transactions and prohibits unilateral price setting without consultation.**
Keidanren views these measures as essential to improving the business environment for SMEs and stabilizing overall wage growth around five percent.
**In its January 20, 2026 guidelines, Keidanren committed to leading this year’s spring wage negotiations in line with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation’s target of at least five percent increases.**
The federation also proposed weighting pay hikes more heavily toward individual contributions, providing fixed-amount payments to all workers, and granting larger increases to younger employees.
Heavy Snowfall Disrupts Transportation and Power in Japan’s Sea of Japan Coastal Regions
Jan. 22, 2026 | Transportation & LogisticsStrong cold air flowing across Japan is set to drive heavy snowfall along the Sea of Japan coast from the northern to western regions through late January 2026.
**The Japan Meteorological Agency projects that this strong cold air will persist until around January 25, 2026, producing heavy snow primarily along the Sea of Japan coast.**
Beginning January 22, snowfall will intensify in the Hokuriku and San’in areas, and even locations on the Pacific side that rarely see snow may record significant accumulations.
Above eastern Japan, temperatures at roughly 5,000 meters may fall below –40 °C, while western Japan could see readings below –12 °C at about 1,500 meters, creating conditions that support heavy snowfall in lowland coastal zones.
**Snowfall rates have already reached as much as 24 centimeters in six hours in some areas.**
Forecasts through Friday morning call for total accumulations up to 100 centimeters in Hokuriku and Niigata Prefecture, with 30 to 70 centimeters expected across Tohoku, Kinki, Hokkaido, Tokai, and Chugoku. In addition, bands of heavy snow clouds tied to the Japan Sea polar air mass convergence zone may extend snowfall into typically clear flatlands and Pacific coast areas.
**Heavy snow may disrupt road networks and force traffic closures to prevent vehicle stranding.**
Overhead power lines could suffer outages from snow loading, and mountainous terrain faces elevated avalanche hazards. Starting January 22, authorities plan preventive closures on several expressway sections in Gifu Prefecture and neighboring areas, including the Meishin Expressway between Ritto Konan (Shiga) and Ichinomiya (Aichi), the Tokai-Kanjo Expressway from Yoro to Minoseki (both in Gifu), and the Hokuriku Expressway between Maibara (Shiga) and Tsuruga (Fukui). Some national routes may also close depending on snowfall severity.
**Officials from the Chubu Regional Development Bureau and the Nagoya Local Meteorological Observatory strongly urge the public to avoid nonessential travel, secure necessary supplies, and consider rescheduling plans as conditions warrant.**
Monitored Intelligence for Japan - Jan. 23, 2026
News
Media
386
Government
Releases
55
City/State
Releases
128
Embassy
Releases
1
Foreign
Service
Advisories
0
Service
Advisories
0
Academic/
Think
Tank
19
Think
Tank
19
Podcasts
0
Videos
0
Social
Media
0
Business
Releases
1
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3/17、2026年版九州経済白書説明会「食･農の未来」【久留米会場】
March 17, 2026 Kyushu Economic White Paper Briefing Session "The Future of Food and Agriculture" Kurume Venue
Kyushu Economic Research Center | Local Language | AcademicThink | Jan. 23, 2026 | UndeterminedEconomic Growth
On March 17, 2026, a briefing session titled "The Future of Food and Agriculture" was held in Kurume City, focusing on the challenges and prospects for Kyushu's agricultural sector. The session addressed issues such as the decline and aging of the agricultural workforce, increasing abandoned farmland, and unstable yields due to climate change-related factors like abnormal weather and natural disasters. The briefing aimed to discuss strategies for enhancing agriculture's appeal, maintaining and strengthening production bases—including people, land, and technology—and adapting to changing consumer demands.
The 2026 Kyushu Economic White Paper was the basis for the briefing, covering topics such as food security, current production and distribution challenges, structural changes in Kyushu agriculture, labor securing in local communities, changes in food distribution, and environmental responses related to food production. The event was held at the Chikugin Bank Head Office with a capacity of 60 participants, free of charge, and featured Hideyuki Okano, Executive Managing Director of the Kyushu Economic Research Association, as the presenter.
Participants were encouraged to purchase the 2026 White Paper at the venue for a discounted price to enhance their understanding. The event was organized by Chikugin Bank, the Chikugin Regional Economic Research Institute, the Kurume Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Kyushu Economic Research Association. Attendees were advised there was no parking available and entry was on a first-come, first-served basis without issued admission tickets.
Japan trade deficit halves in 2025 despite fall in US-bound exports
The Mainichi | English | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | UndeterminedTrade Issues and Numbers
In 2025, Japan's trade deficit decreased by 52.9 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 2.65 trillion yen ($16.7 billion), despite a decline in exports to the United States. Total exports set a record at 110.45 trillion yen, up 3.1 percent year-on-year, while imports rose slightly by 0.3 percent to 113.10 trillion yen. The trade deficit persisted for the fifth consecutive year.
Japan maintained a trade surplus with the United States of 7.52 trillion yen in 2025, although this figure dropped 12.6 percent from the year prior. Exports to the U.S. declined 4.1 percent to 20.41 trillion yen, primarily due to an 11.4 percent decrease in vehicle shipments by value. Imports from the U.S. increased by 1.6 percent to 12.89 trillion yen.
With China, Japan recorded a trade deficit of 7.91 trillion yen, marking a 22.7 percent increase. For the month of December 2025 alone, Japan posted a trade surplus of 105.69 billion yen, with exports rising 5.1 percent to 10.41 trillion yen and imports increasing 5.3 percent to 10.31 trillion yen.
２５年の貿易赤字２・６兆円 対米輸出は４・１％減
25 Years of Trade Deficit at 2.6 Trillion Yen, Exports to the U.S. Decrease by 4.1%
Tokyo Shimbun | Local Language | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | UndeterminedTrade Issues and Numbers
Japan recorded a trade deficit of 2.6507 trillion yen in 2025, marking the fifth consecutive year of deficit. However, the deficit decreased by 52.9% compared to the previous year. Exports to the United States declined by 4.1% to 20.414 trillion yen, the first drop in five years, largely due to high tariff measures imposed during the Trump administration. Notably, automobile exports to the U.S. fell 11.4%.
Globally, exports rose 3.1% to 110.448 trillion yen, the highest since 1979, supported by increased shipments of electronic components such as semiconductors to Asia and engines to the U.S. Imports increased slightly by 0.3% to 113.0987 trillion yen.
Other exports to the U.S. also decreased significantly, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment down 30.2% and automobile parts down 10.7%. Imports from the U.S. rose 1.6% to 12.8926 trillion yen, resulting in a U.S.-Japan trade surplus of 7.5214 trillion yen, though this surplus decreased by 12.6%.
On January 22, the yen traded in the low 158-yen-per-dollar range in the Tokyo foreign exchange market.
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