There is an increasing trend among companies to radically revise their salary and employment systems. According to the Nikkei’s questionnaire survey of the presidents of 100 major Japanese companies, almost 70% of companies said they raised starting salaries [for employees joining the company in 2018 or 2019]. As competition to secure human resources heats up and total labor costs are on the rise, over 50% of companies said that they either have reviewed or plan to review their systems of seniority-based wages. While bringing out the best of abilities in employees by offering compensation commensurate with performance, companies are being asked to take further initiatives to balance diverse work styles.

The Nikkei announced the results of the poll on July 2. (Abridged)

[The Nikkei questionnaire survey targets presidents (including chairpersons) of major Japanese companies once every three months. The recent poll was taken on June 13–27. Responses were received from 145 companies.]