Nikkei (gated) with the report:

  • Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing will increase annual pay for full-time employees in Japan by up to around 40% in March
  • The plan affects around 8,400 people, both at Fast Retailing headquarters and at the company's stores.

As an example, starting monthly salaries will increase to 300,000 yen ($2,270), from 255,000 yen currently.

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Japan's government has been pushing for higher wages, as have the Bank of Japan. If inflation is pulled higher via higher wages (its currently being pushed up by cost pressures that Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda tells us are not sustainable) it'll shift the BOJ closer to a pivot away from ultra-easy policy and will be yen supportive at the margin.

That headline comes via Japanese media, Nikkei (which does tend to get a bit of a heads up from time