[ti:Low-tech Japan Challenged while Working from Home during Pandemic] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Japan's government declared an emergency to help limit the spread of the coronavirus earlier this month. [00:09.68]As part of the declaration, the government asked the Japanese people to work from home. [00:16.84]A short time after the announcement, [00:19.88]many people hurried to electronics stores to buy computers or other things. [00:28.20]Many Japanese did not have the equipment they need to work from home. [00:34.52]While the international image of Japan may include robots and high-tech devices, [00:41.68]in some ways the country has problems with technology. [00:47.96]But the bigger problem for the work-from-home idea is Japanese business culture, experts say. [00:58.28]Most offices do not use email. [01:01.28]Documents must often be signed in front of office managers with special seals called "hanko." [01:11.16]Many homes lack high-speed internet connections. [01:16.44]A study by British market researcher YouGov found that only 18 percent of Japanese [01:24.28]were able to easily work from home or take online classes. [01:30.20]Most had to go into their office or school. [01:34.52]Nearly 80 percent, however, were afraid of getting the coronavirus. [01:42.04]Japan has over 13,500 confirmed cases and nearly 400 deaths, public broadcaster NHK said. [01:54.20]In Tokyo, nearly 4,000 cases have been confirmed. [02:00.56]Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said Monday the number of new cases each day has started to decrease. [02:11.44]Working online from home, known as telework, would help. [02:18.08]Yuri Tazawa is a big supporter of teleworking. [02:24.00]He says one of the biggest issues is that Japanese workers often do not have clearly defined jobs. [02:32.88]They work in teams and are always in contact, [02:37.56]talking to each other to decide the best way to undertake a project. [02:44.48]"But this is a matter of life and death for the workers and their families," said Tazawa. [02:51.52]She is the president of Telework Management Inc. [02:57.20]Tazawa is offering an online class on how to start working from home. [03:05.76]She teaches workers how to use just mobile phones, if they do not own a personal computer. [03:15.24]She says workers should use the video conferencing app Zoom for voice connections. [03:22.48]With the Zoom app, two or more people can see each other and discuss anything. [03:29.92]Tazawa tells workers to keep the program running all day [03:34.80]so they can hear their co-workers and feel as if they are in the office. [03:40.96]"Teleworking is so important in the fight against the coronavirus," said Tazawa. [03:49.96]Japan's biggest companies, like Toyota Motor Corporation and Sony Corporation, [03:56.88]have begun asking their employees to work from home. [04:02.36]The biggest problem is the smaller businesses that make up about 70 percent of the economy. [04:11.60]Nicholas Benes is a business expert [04:14.96]who has been offering a free online class on teleworking for Japanese workers. [04:22.52]Benes says he is surprised by the lack of interest in the class. [04:29.80]"Telework requires that managers trust" employees to make decisions [04:35.68]"because it takes too much time in email...to check with the boss, he said. [04:42.96]Japanese workers like to "smell the air," or "read the air" of their office, [04:49.68]Benes said, using common Japanese expressions. [04:55.24]This means the commuter trains are still full, even as the number of infections is growing. [05:03.52]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM