Japan firms raise wages

Major Japanese firms, including Toyota and Panasonic, on Wednesday said they would boost employees' wages for the first time in years, heeding a call from the prime minister ahead of a sales tax rise next month. The deal came as companies wrap up annual labour talks known as Shunto, or the "spring offensive". The usually low-key negotiations were being closely watched to see if cash-rich firms would put more money in workers' pockets, amid worries about the tax hike slamming the brakes on growth. Japan's auto sector was a key target, with all eyes on the world's biggest automaker Toyota which -- along with other major exporters -- has posted big profits on the back of sharply weaker yen since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe swept to power in late 2012, according to