Key facts
- Japan's top auto union group plans to seek wage growth beyond inflation in 2027 labor talks.
- The group aims to boost competitiveness against China.
- JAW believes stronger pay growth is needed to reverse decades of wage stagnation.
TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Japan's top automobile industry union group is looking to move beyond wage demands aimed merely at keeping pace with inflation in next year's labour talks, as stronger pay growth is needed to help compete with the challenge from China, its chief said. After securing the strongest wage gains in decades in recent years, JAW believes annual pay hikes focused primarily on protecting workers from rising living costs are no longer sufficient to reverse decades of wage stagnation, Akihiro Kaneko, president of the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions (JAW), told Reuters in an interview on Monday.