Use of Teleworking Still Low in Japan: Govt White Paper

July 3, 2018

Tokyo- The proportion of companies in Japan that have introduced telework programs using information technology was still low, at 13.9 pct, in 2017, though up 0.6 percentage point from the previous year, a government white paper showed Tuesday.

Workers willing to use teleworking cited a lack of preparedness both at companies and society as a key reason for the low rate of adoption, according to the 2018 information and communications white paper.

Asked about roadblocks to the introduction of teleworking, with multiple answers allowed, 49.6 pct of 1,200 respondents, the largest group, said their companies have no enough rules.

The report found that 46.1 pct of the respondents cited a lack of infrastructure in society such as satellite offices with sufficient communication capabilities.

Of 440 companies that have introduced teleworking, 54.1 pct, the largest share, said they did so to reduce travel time of employees, followed by the 50.1 pct which intended to improve labor productivity. These companies were allowed to give multiple answers.

More than 80 pct of the companies that have introduced teleworking to improve labor productivity said the system has delivered the intended results. Jiji Press