Small- and medium-sized firms in Japan offered an average monthly wage increase of 3.62 percent for full-time employees in the 2024 spring wage negotiations, a recent survey showed, falling behind big companies, which offered more than 5 percent. The rise, which includes annual wage and base increases, amounted to a growth of 9,662 yen ($62) per month, according to the first-ever survey of its kind by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. But it fell below the 5.58 percent hike by major Japanese firms reported by the Japan Business Federation, the country’s biggest business lobby, also k…