Q87What is the average annual salary of a Japanese salaried workers? (a) 2.50 million yen (b) 4.37 million yen (c) 5.09 million yen

A87    I According to the National Tax Agency's Statistical Survey of the Actual Status of Salaries in the Private Sector, in 2005 there were 44.94 million salaried workers who had worked for a full year, and their average gross annual salary was 4.37 million yen. The correct answer is (b). Incidentally, average salaries have fallen every year for the past eight years.

One of the three characteristics of Japan's employment system is seniority-based wages, according to which salaries increase relative to length of service and age. If the average wages of salaried workers were analyzed by age, the average salary of those aged 20 to 24 would be (a), 2.5 million yen, while for those aged 45 to 49 it would be (c), 5.09 million yen. Furthermore, individuals aged 25 to 29 are paid 3.4 million yen; those 30 to 34, 4.05 million yen; 35 to 39, 4.66 million yen; and 40 to 44, 4.91 million yen.

When these figures are looked at across the sexes, seniority-based wages are clearer for men than for women. The average salary for men aged 20 to 24 is 2.67 million yen, but this increases to 4.58 million yen for those aged 30 to 34, and then to 6.19 mil-lion yen for those aged 40 to 44, peaking at 6.63 million yen for those aged 50 to 54. The average salary for men is 5.38 million yen, while for women it is almost half that, or just 2.73 million yen. However, for women the average salary peaks at 3.01 million

yen for those aged 30 to 34, after which average salaries decline. Many women have to put up with temporary and part-time employment after they marry or have children. Women's wages do not increase with length of service or age, the seniority-based wage system applying mainly to men.