UA Zensen, which consists of unions in Japan’s textile, retail and some
other industries announced a plan to demand a 6% wage
increase in next year’s “shunto” spring wage negotiations.

BoJ Governor Ueda yesterday said
that the central bank wants to gather more information on how the
initial momentum of the 2026 shunto will be before deciding to raise the
policy rate.

The market doesn’t expect a hike in 2025 anymore with the first one seen coming in March 2026 at the earliest.