The most important announcement this week: After mild but positivemomentum in base wages YoY on an annual and quarterly basis, the April andMay 2016 YoY base wages data of 0.0% and -0.2% were very disappointing.
With the labor market tight, page 5, and profits holding at high levels, page 13,we believe it is too early to turn pessimistic on wage trends. Please note thatpart-time wages are rising 1.47% YoY and will be boosted further by a proposed3% increase in Japan’s minimum wage.