One thing I think is worth considering is the effect of living spaces on WFH enjoyment/productivity. There’s a lot less living space in the typical Japanese ho

One thing I think is worth considering is the effect of living spaces on WFH enjoyment/productivity. There’s a lot less living space in the typical Japanese house/apartment compared to the much of the west. A lot of the apartments young people live in in the cities are little more than bedrooms with a kitchen area and unit bathroom attached, often with poor natural lighting to boot. That wouldn’t be a pleasant space to work months on end in. I lived for a number of years in a “2DK” (2x rooms + dining/kitchen) apartment in Tokyo. While a reasonable size by Tokyo standards, frankly it was small and cramped. I can’t imagine really enjoying WFH there. Comparatively, I now live in Australia in a house with about 4x the floor area of that apartment. WFH here is great - I can start the day at the dining table while eating breakfast, move to my study during the day and then when I feel like a change I can move to the couch in the afternoon. I could even sit in the garden if I wanted. It’s a great environment for focusing on a particular task. We’re doing 3 days in the office currently and I’m pushing to maintain that - office for collaboration and team building, home for focusing. In Japan in comparison the current discussion seems to be about more people moving to the regions. That helps solve the living space problem but makes in office collaboration harder. It will be interesting to see if the trend sticks.