Japanese firms have no pressing need to raise wages because they retained jobs during last year's pandemic-induced economic slump, and thus do not need to fill job vacancies as quickly as US companies, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said. The surge in demand triggered by the re-opening of the US economy, and layoffs by US firms to deal with the pandemic's initial hit, have recently caused serious bottlenecks and labour shortages in the country, Kuroda said on Wednesday. That has prompted US firms to raise wages to secure staff, and hike prices of goods and services to curb excess demand. "In contrast, ... (full story)