Wages in Japan have suffered their sharpest drop since tracking began almost two decades ago, fuelling concerns that the economy will remain under pressure from depressed consumer spending.
The plunge comes as Japan prepares to vote at the end of the month in elections that could topple the long-serving Liberal Democratic party, with both the incumbents and the rival Democratic Party of Japan, which is leading in the polls, wooing voters with promises of better conditions for workers.
Labour Ministry figures showed monthly wages, including overtime pay and bonuses, slid 7.1 per cent from a year earlier in June to Y430,620 ($4,518), the 13th consecutive decline but the biggest since the data series started in 1990.
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