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shunto

American  
[shoon-toh] / ˈʃʊn toʊ /

noun

  1. the annual sessions of collective bargaining for wage increases sought by Japanese labor unions each spring.


Etymology

Origin of shunto

< Japanese shuntō literally, spring struggle < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese chūn spring + dòu struggle

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Most workers sit outside the scope of shunto altogether, said Stefan Angrick at Moody’s Analytics, while firms often claw back headline increases by trimming bonuses.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 31, 2026

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is closely watching Japan’s annual spring negotiations, known as shunto, to confirm that wage growth is keeping pace with prices.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 23, 2026

“If the bank misses the opportunity again in January, the rate-hike decision will have to be made based on the results of next year’s shunto wage negotiations,” Nakayama said.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 6, 2025

Many Japanese companies will wrap up their annual "shunto" labour talks on Wednesday, although many have made early decisions with bullish plans, responding to government pressure to help taxpayers weather rising living costs.

From Reuters Mar. 15, 2023

The shunto talks will be held between blue-chip firms and unions around March.

From Reuters Dec. 15, 2022

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