Senior officials of the Consumer Affairs Agency are carrying out a trial in which they are working remotely from a facility in Tokushima Prefecture.
The test, which began Monday in Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture, is part of Tokyo's efforts to decentralize some of its functions, spreading them and their influence further afield.
The trial involves some of the ministry's most senior bureaucrats but is limited in scope: It continues only through Thursday.
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