Japan installs teleworking booths in city metros

With a rise in remote working, Japan has seen an increase in teleworking booths installed in its city metros. 

Called Telecube booths, these teleworking solutions have since been installed at various stations and office building entrances across cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, according to Euro Weekly News. 

As at end-December, a total of 120 booths have so far been set up across 54 locations in the country. Founded last August, the company which runs the Telecube booths aims to top 1,000 units by 2023. 

Meanwhile, transport firm East Japan Railway Co (JR East) has also set up personal offices at 30 sites in and outside stations, as at end-September. 

These box-shaped cubicles have been met with high demand. So far, some 52,000 people have registered for the service to use the workspaces, says JR East. By 2025, the railway company plans to roll out 1,000 of such cubicles nationwide. 

READ: Only 37% of firms meet Japan government’s push to telecommute

In January, the Japanese government urged businesses to lower the number of staff in offices by 70%, in a move to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections. 

But companies have not practiced this much, with survey data from the Japan Productivity Centre showing that the proportion of teleworkers fell to 22% in mid-January, from 31.5% in May 2020, when the country was under its first state of emergency.