Japan’s real wages suffer biggest drop since 2015

People cross a street in downtown Tokyo on Nov 18, 2022. (RICHARD A. BROOKS / AFP)

TOKYO – Japan's inflation-adjusted real wages in October fell 2.6 percent from a year before, the biggest drop since June 2015, the labor ministry said Tuesday in a preliminary report.

Preliminary figures showed that the index dropped for the 7th straight month as higher consumer prices, including energy bills and food costs, outpaced increases in nominal wages.

Total nominal wages per worker in October rose 1.8 percent from a year earlier to 275,888 yen, or about $2,000, on average, up for the 10th consecutive month, according to the report.

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To combat rising inflation, the Japanese government approved in October a 39-trillion-yen ($286 billion) comprehensive economic package, which was backed by an extra budget of 29.1 trillion yen ($213.4 billion).