Japan facing increased pressure to hike minimum wage, but business leaders give mixed response

Last month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy recommended that the government draw up detailed measures to bring the nationwide average minimum wage up to ¥1,000 per hour as soon as possible.

According to an article in the May 15 Asahi Shimbun, the recommendation could cause some concern since the government is anxious about the instability of the business environment owing to factors such as the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions, and increasing the minimum wage too quickly may place an unwanted burden on small and midsize companies.