The government has designated this July 24 as "the day of telework" in a bid to encourage people to work from home and test out the impact on traffic congestion ahead of the 2020 Olympics, which will open on July 24 of that year.
Officials said Tuesday that companies and government offices will be encouraged to allow employees to work remotely until at least 10:30 a.m.
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry is hoping that about 1,000 companies will take part in the project, which is also designed to promote a change in people's work style.
By expanding the campaign period gradually each year toward 2020, the ministry hopes telecommuting will take off in time for the Olympics.
A similar campaign for the 2012 London Olympics proved to be effective, with around 80 percent of businesses in the British capital taking part, the ministry said.
In Japan, only around 16 percent of surveyed companies with over 100 employees have introduced a telecommuting system. Many businesses are reluctant to introduce it due to concerns over the protection of sensitive data and supervision of staff, according to the ministry.
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made reforming people's work-life balance a key policy agenda, with the nation's chronically long working hours seen as having broad economic and social repercussions.
Allowing people to work away from the office could help people balance their jobs with raising children or taking care of elderly parents in the rapidly aging society, the government has argued.
The ministry plans to examine the effects of the campaign on traffic congestion by looking at how many people take part in cooperation with participating companies.