The government has been actively promoting telecommuting, touting its many merits from easing traffic congestion and enhancing disaster preparedness to helping recruit and retain talent amid Japan's chronic labor shortage.
Yet it seems there is a long way to go before large numbers of employees will be allowed to take advantage of the new work style, primarily because of Japanese corporate culture.
A survey of companies with 100 or more employees conducted by the internal affairs ministry found that the acceptance rate increased 5.2 percent in 2018 compared with the year before.