When I was teaching at the University of Tokyo in the 1970s, my daily commute lasted 3½ hours.
But, one day, it threatened to last twice as long: with labor strikes having shut down public transportation, my only option was a much longer route using private trains and subways. Rather than spend nearly seven hours traveling to and from campus for a faculty meeting, I decided to work from home that day. To my surprise, the decision was met with censure from the dean of the faculty and disapproval from my colleagues.
Perhaps I should have anticipated that response. Japan’s work culture is not only notoriously rigid but also highly social. At the kaisha (company), people gather and work together — usually for their entire careers. The question that arose five decades later is whether the COVID-19 pandemic was the disruption Japan needed to break unproductive habits and inject new dynamism into working life.
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