The state of California in the western United States has raised the minimum wage for employees working at fast food restaurants in the state to $20 per hour, or approximately 3,000 yen in Japanese yen, starting from the 1st of this month. American media reports that this will be the highest minimum wage for a fast food restaurant in the United States.
Last September, California Governor Newsom signed a bill to increase the minimum wage, which went into effect on the 1st of this month.
The average wage for fast food employees in California was just over $16 an hour, but the law will raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour.
According to state announcements, approximately 500,000 employees of fast food restaurants with more than 60 stores across the United States will be affected.
American media reports that this will be the highest minimum wage for a fast food restaurant in the United States.
Raising the minimum wage could lead to improved wages for workers in the restaurant industry as a whole, which has been suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On the other hand, it has been pointed out that restaurants may find it difficult to manage due to large wage increases and be forced to cut staff, or that the prices of menu items they serve may rise, leading to a rekindling of inflation.