At a recent Fukuoka Prefectural Minimum Wage Council meeting, a female technical intern from Myanmar working at a senior care facility in Kitakyushu appealed for a significant raise to the prefecture’s ¥992 hourly minimum wage. She explained that, after remitting most of her earnings to her family, she lives on just ¥40,000–50,000 per month. According to national authorities, this is the first time a foreign worker has spoken at such a council in Japan. Employers argued that a rapid increase could strain business operations. Labor expert Eriko Suzuki noted the intern’s testimony highlights challenges shared by both foreign and Japanese workers amid rising costs of living. Source: NHK
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