Hamaguchi Keiichiro, Research Director General, the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training In recent years, the question “Why are Japanese wages not rising?” has become a hot topic. Five years have already passed since a book with the very title Hitodebusoku nanoni naze chingin ga agara nai no ka (Why Haven’t Wages Been Raised Even With a Labor Shortage?) (Genda Yuji ed., 2017) came out. The analysis from various economic perspectives developed there may seem like it makes sense, but it really doesn’t sound right. In the past, during the period of high economic growth, Japanese wages rose sharply, spurred on by the “income-doubling plan.” Prices also rose, but wage growth was even larger. When did that change? Let’s look back at history. The oil crisis success backfired The first change came with the wage suppression in the spring wage negotiations ... ... [Read more]