3 ms·

> Japan’s minimum wage ($6.68 an hour) is similar to America’s ($7.25).

alephnerd 9mo ago
1. American state minimum wage supersedes the national minimum wage [0] 2. The median household income in Japan is significantly below the US ($25,000 [1] versus $83k [2]), let alone other OECD members. [0] - https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage... [1] - https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/mro/2029703?display=1 https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/mro/2029703?display=1 [2] - https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-286.html https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-28...
yourusername 9mo ago
But does anyone actually make minimum wage in the US? Statistics i can find suggest it is around 1% with Japan closer to 20%.
- t-3 9mo ago
  Most (30) states have their own minimum wage, higher than the federal. 20 have no minimum wage or a minimum lower than or equal to the federal.
seanmcdirmid 9mo ago
$13-15/hour is the minimum even in Mississippi, which are the rates McDonald’s advertises for crew there.
gruez 9mo ago
>to America’s ($7.25). That's the federal minimum wage. The actual minimum wage, factoring in state and local rates is actually around $12, 65% higher. https://www.economist.com/content-assets/images/20251122_FNC459.png https://www.economist.com/content-assets/images/20251122_FNC...
oivey 9mo ago
Besides what all these other commenters are saying, probably many of the people running these small lunch shops in Japan are the owners, not waged employees. On top of that, that business probably isn’t viable for 8 hours per day.
pibaker 9mo ago
Now try actually hiring anyone at $7.25 an hour. Not to mention most states have their own minimum wage at over $10.
sarchertech 9mo ago
Minimum wage doesn’t tell you as much as you’d think. McDonald’s in my lowish cost of living area starts at $14 an hour. The US federal minimum wage hasn’t increased in nearly 20 years. Japan raises it regularly.

1. American state minimum wage supersedes the national minimum wage [0] 2. The median household income in Japan is significantly below the US ($25,000 [1] versus $83k [2]), let alone other OECD members. [0] - https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage... [1] - https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/mro/2029703?display=1 https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/mro/2029703?display=1 [2] - https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-286.html https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-28...

yourusername 9mo ago

But does anyone actually make minimum wage in the US? Statistics i can find suggest it is around 1% with Japan closer to 20%.

t-3 9mo ago
Most (30) states have their own minimum wage, higher than the federal. 20 have no minimum wage or a minimum lower than or equal to the federal.

seanmcdirmid 9mo ago

$13-15/hour is the minimum even in Mississippi, which are the rates McDonald’s advertises for crew there.

gruez 9mo ago

>to America’s ($7.25). That's the federal minimum wage. The actual minimum wage, factoring in state and local rates is actually around $12, 65% higher. https://www.economist.com/content-assets/images/20251122_FNC459.png https://www.economist.com/content-assets/images/20251122_FNC...

oivey 9mo ago

Besides what all these other commenters are saying, probably many of the people running these small lunch shops in Japan are the owners, not waged employees. On top of that, that business probably isn’t viable for 8 hours per day.

pibaker 9mo ago

Now try actually hiring anyone at $7.25 an hour. Not to mention most states have their own minimum wage at over $10.

sarchertech 9mo ago

Minimum wage doesn’t tell you as much as you’d think. McDonald’s in my lowish cost of living area starts at $14 an hour. The US federal minimum wage hasn’t increased in nearly 20 years. Japan raises it regularly.