Tokyo, May 15 (IANS): Japan's main employers have recommended a four-day work week to reduce the chances of COVID-19 transmission as companies start to reopen.

The Japanese Business Federation, known as Keidanren, published guidelines on Thursday, including a reduction of the work week, a commitment to teleworking and a modification or rotation of schedules to avoid congestion on public transport, reports Efe news.

Some guidelines clash with Japanese social conventions, such as asking people who feel sick to rest at home, a rare occurrence before the epidemic, and for regular business card exchanges to be done online.

Keidanren recommended suspending all non-essential work trips and, if they must be carried out, recording which people, places and routes the worker has been in contact with.

It also asked companies to consider ways to hold meetings with shareholders, as well as interviews or seminars, without gathering in person.

Other recommendations are already widely applied in the country: maintaining a distance of 2 metres apart, frequent hand washing, wearing masks and ventilating offices at least twice an hour.

The document was published the same day the Japanese government announced the lifting of the state of emergency for 39 of the 47 prefectures of the country, which will allow the revival of economic activity in most provinces.

But the main business regions, such as Tokyo and Osaka, were still under the state of emergency.

Japan has registered over 16,000 COVID-19 cases, with 697 deaths, according to John Hopkins University.