I like that Costco does this, but this is a shit article with a clickbait headline. The "local businesses" was 1 guy at a gas station that said "I can't pay that". The vast majority of businesses here give at the very least a yearly cost of living raise. Most give more the longer you are with a company. Been working 20 years and my own raises have outpaced inflation almost every time.
The flip side of that coin though is that wages start ridiculously low. Regardless of the position or responsibility, a starting salary will be about 200k ~ 250k yen ($1700 usd) a month.