TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday urged companies whose earnings have recovered to pre-pandemic levels to raise wages by 3 percent or more at their labour talks next spring, aiming to achieve a virtuous cycle of growth and wealth distribution. Kishida also told his “new capitalism” panel meeting that the government would take steps to raise the incomes of welfare workers such as childcare workers, nurses, and caregivers by 3 percent continuously. With the recovery in the world’s third-largest economy remaining uneven among sectors, Kishida vowed to help small firms pass on costs of raw materials, energy, and labour costs to customers. The wage hike proposal is part of Kishida’s strategy to tackle wealth disparities and redistribute wealth, while the government is also trying to ease the pain on consumers from rising oil and food costs. “I expect that, at next year’s labour talks, those companies whose profits have …