The proportion of small and midsize firms in Japan raising base pay has increased from the previous fiscal year to reach 63.1 percent amid high inflation and acute labor shortages, a government survey showed Monday. The figure for fiscal 2024 was up 8.8 percentage points from the previous year’s 54.3 percent, confirming that pay hikes have spread from bigger firms in a positive development for the Bank of Japan as it aims to achieve stable inflation backed by robust wage growth. However, the proportion of small and midsize firms raising base pay is still lower than the 81.1 percent for big com…