Photo/Illutration Tokushima Labor Bureau head Ikuko Takenaka, right, receives a report from Satoko Danno, who chairs the regional minimum wage council, in Tokushima on Aug. 29. (Tomohiko Noto)

A local council in Tokushima set a record when it raised the prefecture's hourly pay from the current 896 yen ($6.18) to 980 yen in this fiscal year’s minimum wage revision.

What seems like small change could greatly benefit workers.

With this Aug. 29 decision, all prefectures have finalized their rates.

Japan’s national weighted average minimum wage for fiscal 2024 increased by a record 51 yen, or 5.1 percent, to 1,055 yen per hour.

Amid rising prices and competition for talent due to labor shortages, 27 of 47 prefectures exceeded the wage increase guideline set by the central government.

This annual figure is determined via the labor ministry’s central council dividing prefectures into three ranks, from A to C, based on their economic circumstances and providing a corresponding amount to increase the minimum wage by. 

Local councils in each prefecture then adjust the minimum wage accordingly. 

Tokyo has the highest hourly pay of this year's revisions at 1,163 yen while Akita Prefecture is at the bottom of the list at 951 yen.

The gap between the top and the bottom of the list has narrowed slightly from 220 yen to 212 yen.

The guidelines for fiscal 2024 suggested a uniform increase of 50 yen, which would have brought the national average to 1,054 yen.

However, many prefectures chose to increase pay by more than the proposed 50-yen raise and bumped the final average to 1,055 yen. 

The number of prefectures with a minimum wage exceeding 1,000 yen has increased to 16, double from the previous fiscal year.

In its fiscal 2023 revision, Tokushima Prefecture had the second-lowest minimum wage in the country.

Regarding its latest decision, the local council explained, “It was necessary to set a minimum wage appropriate for Tokushima Prefecture’s position when compared with other prefectures based on various economic indicators.”

Considering the overall living costs, wages and companies’ ability to pay, the council said, “Tokushima Prefecture is ranked above the middle compared to all other prefectures.”

The local council took the current national median minimum wage of 930 yen and decided to add the labor ministry's suggested 50 yen to that amount when revising the hourly rate.

Previously, 9 yen was the most any prefecture had added to a guideline. Tokushima Prefecture smashed this by adding 34 yen and boosting its national rank to 27th, a record-setting total of 84 yen.

As a result, the prefecture's minimum wage increased by nearly 10 percent.

Meanwhile, 20 A-ranked prefectures such as Tokyo, Aichi and Osaka stuck to the 50-yen guideline when adjusting their pay rates. 

(This article was written by Junichi Miyagawa and Takashi Narazaki.)

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