May 31, 2022

Pay gap for working women keeps wages down for everyone in Japan.

The gist:

The proposed change comes “as part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s New Capitalism plans,” spurned by rising inflation which wages are not keeping pace with.

Japanese women earn “77.5% of what men do, far below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average of 88.4%.”

By “forcing companies to disclose gender pay gaps, the government could help pay keep up with prices or outpace them, provided it results in women’s compensation being raised instead of men’s wages being cut.”

Raising women’s wages and working to close the pay gap, will “help form a virtuous cycle of higher incomes that power consumption and growth in a feedback loop.”

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