Telework boom pushes Japan's business card culture to go digital

Online conferences and social media make old-fashioned card exchanges difficult

20200702 Sansan

Sansan's software allows participants in video conferences to create QR codes that lead to their business card information. (Photo by Tsubasa Suruga)

KOHEI FUJIMURA and TSUBASA SURUGA, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- The new coronavirus is upending one of Japan's most basic business conventions -- the exchange of business cards.

A drastic reduction in the number of business meetings means fewer opportunities to swap cards, and more Japanese -- especially young people -- are turning to social media for their professional networking needs. Those trends have companies that cater to Japan's business card market scrambling to adapt.

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