Dentsu tells 5000 Tokyo staffers to work from home

A Dentsu employee in his 50s has been infected with the COVID-19 virus, and the company is ordering the approximately 5,000 people working at the Dentsu headquarters building in the Shiodome area of Tokyo to work from home as of today.

The man is not said to be in serious condition, and public-health officials have identified four people he likely came in close contact with.

Dentsu stated in the press release that the reason for switching to telecommuting was “to create an environment to provide our services to society and customers with peace of mind”. Work will be done from home until the situation subsides. However, “those who are not sick will continue to hold meetings, production, presentation etc. of urgent business at business partner offices etc., in accordance with the operational rules at the business partner, upon mutual agreement,” Dentsu said.

Offices in the Kansai and Chubu locations are not yet covered. 

Shiseido, also headquartered in Shiodome, is also telling its 8,000 employees who work in the area (about 30% of all its domestic employees) to telecommute as of today. The company has not confirmed any infected persons, so the move appears to be aimed at preventing infection. Employees working in factories and stores are expected to work as normal.