The idea of a four-day workweek has increasingly been embraced by businesses inside and outside Japan during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Unilever New Zealand has introduced the system as part of a one-year experiment, while Mizuho Financial Group Inc., one of Japan's three megabanks, launched similar work arrangements in December.
While the emerging trend reflects that employers are becoming more engaged with improving their workers' productivity and life balance, it is receiving additional help from the pandemic.