Japan firms reduce teleworking despite workers’ strong demand: survey

Japanese companies are continuing to reduce the use of teleworking after the government downgraded COVID-19 to a lower-risk disease category in May, despite workers’ strong demand for remote working, a recent survey showed.

The ratio of workers using the telework system dropped to 22.2 percent, the lowest level since the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country, according to the survey released earlier in the week by Persol Research and Consulting Co., a private think tank.

The think tank collected responses in mid-July from 24,644 workers at companies with 10 or more employees. In its initia...