Data released by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on Tuesday showed that the average monthly wage for full-time employees in Japan reached 340,600 yen in 2025, setting a new record high for the fourth year in a row. This figure, which excludes additional compensation such as overtime pay, increased by 3.1% compared to 2024, marking the second consecutive year that wage growth has remained within the 3% range. The ministry conducted a salary survey in June 2025 covering 52,242 companies with 10 or more employees. The results indicated that the average monthly wage for male employees was 373,400 yen, up 2.8% year-on-year, while for female employees it was 285,900 yen, rising 3.9% year-on-year. The gender wage gap in Japan narrowed to its smallest level on record. When the average male wage is set at 100, the average female wage corresponds to 76.6, an improvement of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous year. This change is attributed to several factors, including requirements for some companies to disclose gender wage disparities and upcoming regulations mandating the disclosure of the proportion of women in management positions.