Men in their 20s in and around Tokyo need to earn 1,345 yen an hour to maintain the minimum standard of living — far more than the current minimum wage of 766 yen, figures from a labor think tank have shown.
For men in their 20s living by themselves, the institute found that they needed 39,564 yen for food, 54,167 yen for rent, and 18,273 yen for education and entertainment each month. Altogether, the total monthly amount reached 233,801 yen. When this figure was divided by 173.8 working hours per month — the figure used by the minimum wage deliberation council — it emerged that they needed to earn a minimum of 1,345 yen per hour.
“A major increase in the minimum wage is necessary,” said Bukkyo University Professor Seiichi Kanezawa, who participated in the survey.
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