Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked business leaders on Wednesday to raise wages more aggressively for employees as part of his pursuit of wealth redistribution. Ahead of this year's annual wage negotiations between management and labor unions, Kishida, who took office in October, is calling for a pay hike of over 3 percent by companies that have seen their earnings recover to prepandemic levels. "Wage hikes mean future investments. It's critically important for future economic growth. I'd like to see you take an aggressive stance and cooperate," he told a meeting of business leaders who gathered for New ... (full story)