Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing raises wages in Japan by as much as 40%

Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss the rise in retail wages for Japanese Uniqlo workers.

Video Transcript

BRIAN SOZZI: All right, Asia's largest clothing retailer and owner of the Uniqlo fashion brand, Fast Retailing, will increase employee wages in Japan by as much as 40% to help workers fight rising inflation. Of course, good to see this. Now I'm wondering how some of this company's competitors respond in the coming quarters. You would think they would have to raise wages, too.

JULIE HYMAN: Well, and it's about Japan specifically because even the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has been calling for companies to raise wages. So, there, it's almost a political-- a national political issue, and not just sort of competitive wages, et cetera.

BRAD SMITH: Yeah, some of the core inflation that we've seen in Japan, based on recent data, has been at an eight-year high. And so I think continuing to give your employees some access to higher wages in order to combat that. I mean, that's a-- I think that's a good signal for the company, perhaps helps them retain some of that employee base, too.

JULIE HYMAN: The average pay in Japan on an annual basis, $39,711, in 2021. The OECD average, over $51,000. And it hasn't changed much--

[BUZZER]

--in the past few decades.