Toshiba to close all offices, factories in Japan

NHK -- Apr 16

Japanese conglomerate Toshiba will soon suspend operations at all its offices and factories in the country, in principle, to prevent coronavirus infections.

The company plans to implement the measure from April 20 to May 6. All of the about 76,000 employees in the Toshiba group will be affected.

The period includes several national holidays. The company will move days off planned for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to enable the long business closure. The Tokyo Games have been postponed for about a year due to the pandemic.

But officials say the group will carry out maintenance work on infrastructure, such as power supply, railways and elevators, if necessary.

Toshiba has had employees work from home, except for factory workers. But it believes further efforts are necessary to help contain the virus.