TOKYO ― Japan's inflation-adjusted real wages fell in April from a year earlier but slowed the pace of decline as the Bank of Japan looks for early signs of achieving a positive cycle of rising wages and inflation that would allow it to lift interest rates.Labor ministry data out on Wednesday showed real wages fell 0.7 percent year on year in April, extending a record streak of 25 consecutive monthly declines as higher living costs outweighed pay raises.
On the brighter side, the labor ministry data showed scheduled cash earnings, or regular pay, rose 2.3 percent year on year in April, matching the previous high seen in October 1994, shortly after the country's asset bubble burst.'The data confirmed steady wage hikes, with the big gain in base pay reflecting the results of recent labor talks,' said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.