Remote work drives Japanese to suburbs

This picture taken on March 23, 2020 shows Yuki Sato, an employee in a startup company, working from home as a result of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Tokyo, as his daughters Yurina (L) and Hinano play and his wife Hitomi uses a mobile phone. - AFP

TOKYO: The work-from-home phenomenon during the pandemic is providing an unexpected boon for one of Japan’s biggest mortgage lenders.

Resona Holdings Inc is enjoying a surge in demand for credit from homebuyers seeking larger properties in the suburbs, where the bank has a strong presence, president Masahiro Minami said.