Japanese firms step up virus countermeasures as infections spread
By prefecture, the rate was highest in Yamanashi at 98.6%, and lowest in Akita, at 83.0%. The rate stood at 96.9% in Hokkaido, 96% in Osaka and 94.5% in Tokyo. The three prefectures are seeing rapid growth in the number of newly confirmed infections. Meanwhile, the proportion of people working remotely fell to some 20% in July from around 30% in May, when the government’s state of emergency over the coronavirus was in place, according to a survey by the Japan Productivity Center. The rate dropped below 20% in October. But some companies are starting to again reduce the number of employees w...