The COVID-19 pandemic is causing Japanese businesses to temporarily close their offices or suspend production in a country that so far has fared better than most advanced economies during the epidemic. 

Last week, Toyota Motor Corp and Daihatsu Motor Co halted production line shifts due to employee infections. KFC Holdings Japan Ltd closed some of its fast-food restaurants and moved staff to fill gaps, and Japan Post Holdings Co temporarily closed more than 200 mailing centers.

COVID cases in Japan have surged past those in other countries due to the BA.4 and BA.5 variants dominating worldwide. Over the past week, the World Health Organization recorded more than 1.4 million new cases of COVID in Japan.

Companies are scrambling to cope.

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