Chiefs of Japanese major business lobbies on Friday vowed to push for larger pay hikes than last year after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called on them to increase wages so that they outpace rising prices at a New Year’s event. “We will tackle the issue of wage increases with stronger passion and resolve than last year,” Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren, said at the event, adding, “Japan is now faced with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get out of deflation completely.” The remarks came as Japan’s major companies raised their wages by 3.99 perc…