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TOKYO — This financial year has witnessed remarkable rises in the minimum wage throughout Japan’s 47 prefectures. The lowest minimum wage, once implemented, will be 1,023 yen (approximately $7) in Kochi, Miyazaki, and Okinawa prefectures. Nevertheless, when considering the annual figure, a different prefecture holds the lowest position. What is the hidden issue within the minimum wage “rankings”?

The minimum wage refers to the lowest hourly payment that employers must provide to their employees. A national committee categorizes the prefectures into three levels, labeled A through C, depending on economic factors and establishes recommendations for salary increments. For this financial year, the recommended increases were 63 yen (approximately 43 cents) for levels A and B, and 64 yen for level C. Local prefectural committees then decide the exact figures based on these recommendations.

Significant increases and delays

During the prefectural council meetings in August and September, numerous increases were announced that greatly surpassed the national recommendations. At the same time, there was a tendency to postpone the introduction of the new minimum wage to a later date than typical.

In fiscal year 2024, every prefecture except Tokushima introduced the changes in October. However, this year, 27 prefectures have scheduled their dates for November or later, with six, including Akita, Gunma, and Tokushima, pushing them into 2026. These are the first such postponements since the current system was introduced in fiscal year 2002.

There is a gap of approximately six months between Tochigi Prefecture, which was the first to introduce the measure on October 1, and Akita Prefecture, which implemented it last on March 31, 2026.

Calculating annually

Professor Yukiko Abe from Hokkaido University, who focuses on labor economics, accounted for the implementation lags and determined the annualized minimum hourly rate for each prefecture starting October 1, 2025.

Based on her calculations, Akita Prefecture recorded the lowest annualized wage at 991 yen (approximately $6.70), followed by Kochi and Okinawa Prefectures with 1,011 yen, and Kumamoto and Fukushima Prefectures at 1,013 yen.

When looking at the delays throughout the year starting from October 2025, 25 prefectures experienced increases that were more than 1 yen below the national standards. Even though Akita Prefecture raised the minimum wage by 80 yen, the six-month delay resulted in an effective increase of just 40 yen, which was 24 yen less than the guideline.

Other prefectures that were considerably lower than the guidelines were Gunma (17 yen less), Tokushima (14 yen less), and Yamanashi (10 yen less). Abe stated, “Although the figures seem to have risen significantly, when calculated annually, they still fall short of the national standards.”

Calls for government action

The Minimum Wage Act does not outline specific dates for implementation, meaning that delays are not considered unlawful. This year, the national council’s report featured a recommendation urging careful consideration at the local level concerning implementation dates, which has led to the postponements.

This officially approved the inclusion of business owners’ viewpoints rather than strictly following the record-high national regulations.

Nevertheless, certain prefectural councils have indicated that the national government should establish guidelines for implementation timelines. The Wakayama Prefecture council stated, “This is not a matter for individual local decisions; we hope the central authority will introduce a unified policy.”

In the same way, the Okinawa Prefecture council mentioned, “Rather than delegating the talks to local councils, an immediate review, including possible required legal changes, should be carried out.”

(Japanese original by Nanako Hori and Aya Shiota, Lifestyle, Science & Environment News Team)