Japan wages data for May: Real wages fall again, down 1.8% y/y

Japanese Average Cash Earnings

+1% y/y

• expected 1.5%, prior 1.7%

Overtime Pay +5.5% y/y

After inflation wages wages fell 1.8% y/y

• expected -1.6%, prior -1.7%

Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda has repeated, over and over, that he needs to see wages increase it help inflation rise in a stable manner. A 1.8% real wage decline does not meet this criteria.