On 21 October 2026 the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) published the results of its 2026 Survey on Wage Increases. The survey aims to show the amount, rate and method of wage revisions at private companies across Japan.
This page summarises the MHLW press release and the ministry's overview of the 2026 survey results.
About the survey
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Date published | 21 October 2026 |
| Published by | Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Wage and Welfare Statistics Office) |
| Survey period | July to August 2026 |
| Scope | Private companies organised as corporations with 100 or more regular employees |
| Companies sampled | 3,668 |
| Valid responses | 1,862 |
| Period covered | Wage revisions in 2026 (including those planned for September to December) |
According to the press release, "average wage per employee" means the average monthly scheduled earnings per employee, including allowances but excluding premium pay such as overtime, holiday and late-night pay, and special allowances such as congratulatory or condolence payments.
Key results
| Item | 2026 | Previous year |
|---|---|---|
| Companies that raised or will raise average wages | 92.0% | 91.5% |
| Companies that cut or will cut average wages | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| Companies making no wage revision | 2.1% | 2.4% |
| Average increase per employee (including planned) | JPY 13,926 | JPY 13,601 |
| Average rate of increase (including planned) | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| Companies that carried out or will carry out a regular pay raise (companies that revised or planned to revise wages and those making no revision) | 81.2% | 76.8% |
| Companies that carried out or will carry out a base-pay increase (companies with a regular pay raise system) | 57.9% | 57.8% |
| Companies that paid or will pay a summer bonus (amount decided) | 88.5% | 88.4% |
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Try for free →Wage revisions
According to the overview, in 2026 (including revisions planned for September to December), 92.0% of companies raised or will raise average wages per employee, 0.4% cut or will cut them, 0.4% left them unchanged, 2.1% made no wage revision, and 5.1% were undecided.
By union status, the share raising average wages was 96.9% for companies with a labour union (95.5% the previous year) and 90.5% for those without (90.4%).
Amount and rate of increase
The average increase per employee was JPY 13,926 (previous year JPY 13,601), a rate of 4.4% (previous year 4.4%). Results by union status and company size are as follows.
| Category | Amount | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| With a labour union | JPY 14,757 (prev. JPY 15,229) | 4.5% (prev. 4.8%) |
| Without a labour union | JPY 13,033 (prev. JPY 11,980) | 4.2% (prev. 4.0%) |
| 5,000 or more employees | JPY 16,680 | 4.8% |
| 1,000 to 4,999 employees | JPY 15,402 | 4.7% |
| 300 to 999 employees | JPY 12,912 | 4.2% |
| 100 to 299 employees | JPY 11,279 | 3.9% |
Regular pay raises and base-pay increases
Among companies that revised or planned to revise wages and those making no revision, 84.2% had a regular pay raise system (81.2% the previous year). As to the content of the system (multiple answers), 28.4% had automatic raises and 73.0% had other systems such as performance evaluation.
Among the same companies (those that revised or planned to revise wages and those making no revision), 81.2% carried out or will carry out a regular raise (76.8% the previous year): 88.3% of companies with a union and 78.9% of those without. Limited to companies with a regular pay raise system, the share was 96.4% (Table 4).
Among companies with a regular pay raise system, 57.9% carried out or will carry out a base-pay increase (57.8% the previous year) and 15.4% did not or will not (15.1%). The share was 83.9% for companies with a union and 48.8% for those without.
Factor most emphasised in wage decisions
Among companies that revised or planned to revise wages and had decided the amount, the factor most emphasised was company performance (46.0%, up from 41.7%), followed by securing and retaining workers (12.1%, down from 17.0%) and maintaining employment (9.2%, down from 11.9%). Company performance was the most common answer at every company size.
As of 1 August 2026, 40.3% of companies described business conditions as good (35.3% the previous year), 48.6% as not so good (51.2%) and 8.4% as bad (13.1%). At every company size, more than 80% of companies reported an increase in raw material costs and expenses.
Summer bonuses and union demands
For summer 2026, 88.5% of companies paid or will pay a bonus with the amount decided (88.4% the previous year), 5.3% will pay but had not decided the amount (4.6%), and 5.3% paid no bonus (4.9%).
23.3% of companies had a labour union (22.0% the previous year). Among them, 84.7% received a wage increase demand from the union (78.3%) and 10.8% did not (18.1%).
Sources
- MHLW, "Overview of the 2026 Survey on Wage Increases" (Japanese) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/itiran/roudou/chingin/jittai/26/index.html
- MHLW, press release (PDF, 21 October 2026, Japanese) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/itiran/roudou/chingin/jittai/26/dl/08.pdf
- MHLW, overview chapters 1 to 6 (PDF, Japanese) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/itiran/roudou/chingin/jittai/26/dl/01.pdf and following
This page is compiled from material published by government agencies. Please consult a lawyer where a decision is needed on a specific matter.
