Sega is the latest Japanese company to raise employees’ salaries

Sega is the latest Japanese company to announce plans to raise the salaries of its workers.

Effective from July 1, 2023, the Sonic publisher said it will increase the average monthly salary of existing employees by approximately 30%.

It will achieve this “by raising the base salary and increasing the ratio of base salary within annual salary by incorporating part of bonuses”.

On an annual salary basis, the average increase rate would work out at about 15% across the company, according to Sega.

The starting salary for university graduates will rise by 35%, from ¥222,000 ($1,632) to ¥300,000 ($2,225), due to the revision.

Sega said it was revising its compensation system “in order to further stabilize employee income and create a more comfortable working environment, as well as to further strengthen its global competitiveness”.

The move comes after prime minister Fumio Kishida reportedly called for Japanese companies to pay workers more as inflation takes hold in the economy.

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Earlier this month, Nintendo announced plans to raise the base salaries of its workers in Japan by 10%.

And last April, Resident Evil maker Capcom raised Japanese base salaries by 30%.