Tokyo | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pressed forward with his campaign for higher wages as a slide in his support rate seems to have halted and speculation re-emerges that he may opt to call a general election this year.

Mr Kishida underscored the need for pay rises to bolster the economy in a speech to parliament on Tuesday that laid out his agenda for the new session. Dismayed at wage rises falling short of inflation and angered by a widespread political slush-fund scandal, voters sent his disapproval rating to a record level in a recent poll.

Bloomberg