BOJ warns of uncertainty on whether wage hikes will broaden

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan raised its economic assessment for two of the country’s nine regions on Thursday but warned of high uncertainty on whether wage hikes will broaden nationwide.

“Some big firms have already announced plans to hike wages this year at or above the pace of last year,” the BOJ said in a quarterly report on regional areas of Japan.

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“But many firms have yet to firm up their plans on the pace of wage hikes. Quite a number of small and medium-sized firms remain cautious (of hiking wages) due to profit constraints,” the report said.