JAPAN / Society

For many in Japan, remote work during coronavirus outbreak is not an option

Koichi Nihei, a hairdresser at Pia Hair Salon Tokyo in Shibuya Ward, says he and his staff go without face masks, as the practice of wearing masks — less common overseas — could scare away its foreign patrons. | RYUSEI TAKAHASHI

By Tomohiro Osaki
Staff writer

Mar 22, 2020

Commuting on packed trains and spending hours in a confined office space are akin to a nightmare in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To protect employees from such high-risk environments, firms nationwide have been scrambling to enable them to work remotely. A survey conducted by the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier this month showed that 54.7 percent of large corporations with capital of ¥300 million or more in the prefecture are now implementing telework.

But remote work remains off-limits for many — in particular those engaged in occupations that by nature require their physical presence in the workplace, such as cooks, hairdressers, taxi drivers and doctors.