Tokyo commuters told to work from home to avert Olympic transport nightmare

More than half a million people in Tokyo are being asked to work from home as part of a trial scheme aimed at tackling transport congestion ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in the city.

Over 20 million people use public transport in the greater Tokyo area every day, and it is feared the arrival of more than 600,000 people visitors to the Olympic and Paralympic Games will overload the city's notoriously strained system.

In a bid to avert travel chaos, the Japanese government has launched its "Telework" scheme, where an equal number of employees are encouraged to work from home for at least two weeks from July 24. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is hoping that more than 600,000 workers from 3,000 companies will take part in the trial.