PICTURED: MEMBERS OF THE TOYOTA WORKERS' UNION DURING A 2017 RALLY.
Japanese automaker Toyota agreed to its largest pay hike in two decades.
The Japanese government is pushing for firms to raise wages as a way to help people cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
Toyota, the world's largest automaker and one of Japan's biggest employers, agreed to pay one-off bonuses worth 6.7 months of wages as part of the deal.
- The company and the Federation of All Toyota Workers' Union, which represents 375,000 of its employees, did not specify the size of the pay hike.
- Price increases in Japan have been moderate compared to other major economies but the country's 4% inflation rate for 2022 marked a 40-year high.
- Hours after Toyota made the announcement, fellow automaker Honda said that it reached a deal with its union to raise wages by 5%, the biggest pay hike for Honda workers since 1990.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that higher wages would "boost consumption and expand domestic demand," helping to stave off stagflation.
