Uniqlo's parent company in Japan raising fresh grad base salaries up to S$4,038 a month due to inflation

The owner of popular Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo, Fast Retailing, will be raising its base salaries for fresh graduates in Japan by as much as 12 per cent.

This is done in a move to attract and retain talent amid rising inflation..

Pay to increase by as much as 12 per cent

According to Bloomberg, from March 2026, the annual pay for university graduates in management-track programmes will increase to 5.9 million yen (around S$48,462).

Salaries for other graduate hires will rise by around 10 per cent to 4.5 million yen (around S$36,963).

Fast Retailing said the pay increase is part of a strategy to foster "a virtuous cycle of growth and wage increases", with the aim of boosting overall productivity and achieving sustainable growth.

Similar wage hikes done before

The company made similar moves in recent years.

In 2023, it raised annual pay for full-time employees in Japan by as much as 40 per cent, Bloomberg reported.

Fast Retailing's decision reflects a broader shift in corporate Japan, where labour shortages are intensifying and consumer prices are climbing to levels not seen in decades.

Despite these changes, Japan continues to lag its peers in wage growth.

According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the country’s average wage stood at US$49,446 (around S$63,897) in 2024.

This is the lowest among the Group of Seven economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States).

By comparison, the U.S. recorded the highest average wage in the G-7 at US$82,993 (around S$107,257).

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