Japan real wages rise for ninth month, backing BOJ hike

· Economy · Japan

Japan's real wages rose for a ninth straight month in September, backing the case for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates. The data came as Japanese equity futures pointed to steep declines on Friday after the US tech rout, and the Nikkei 225 fell again on AI and chip share selling. The yen regained its haven appeal as the sell-off drove investors to safer assets. Separately, Japanese savers have rediscovered interest rates and banks are feeling the effect, while police plan to share scam account data nationwide after losses reached a provisional 261 billion yen from January to September.

Why it matters：Rising real wages strengthen the case for the Bank of Japan to normalise policy, a shift with global implications for bond and currency markets.

Key points

  • Real wages rose for a ninth consecutive month in September.
  • The Nikkei 225 fell again on AI and chip selling.
  • Scam losses reached a provisional ¥261 billion from January to September.

Sources (original reporting)

More stories from this day