Real wages in Japan fell for the 11^th straight month by 2.6% in February 2023 when compared to February 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The data noted that the rate at which it fell slowed down, in part, due to government efforts to curb inflation. The 2.6% fall compared to January’s annual real wages fall of 4.1%, and February 2022’s zero growth.

Japan recently concluded its annual labour talks negotiating the largest wage hike in three decades as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida put pressure on large corporations to increase the minimum wage in Japan.

Meanwhile, total cash earnings for February posted a 1.1% gain year-over-year, an increase from January’s 0.8% gain.

Total hours worked increased over the year in February to 2.7%. In January, it declined down to 1.1%.