It depends on a few factors, 6feetunder:-
i) Which way the wind is blowing on the day a decision is finally made;
ii) How the particular Japanese manager at the time feels about gaijin;
iii) Whether the sashimi was fresh.
In other words, just because something was done a certain way last time, it doesn't mean the same will be done again the next time around.
The greatest consistency here in Japan is the continual change, and the INconsistency.
Mind you, all of us gaijin here would consider a pay cut fair for us, if our conditions of employment were the same as those of the Japanese.