William There’s a council in Kumamoto made up of representatives of labor and management whose recommendations almost inevitably turn into law. The council has recommended a ¥32 rise in the minimum wage to ¥853 which, if applied by the Labor Bureau, would be the largest raise ever, a full ¥2 higher than is standard. There is no national minimum wage in Japan; all are set by prefecture. By comparison, the minimum wage in California is $14, almost twice as high, though individual cities can (and often do) set higher rates; that in Los Angeles is $16.04, or about ¥2,123. The US federal minimum wage is $7.25, unchanged since 2009 and currently worth about ¥984. NHK Japanese: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/kumamoto/20220809/5000016578.html An English article regarding the Central Minimum Wage Council is here: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220801/p2a/00m/0bu/004000c