In 57 ad a Chinese emperor, Guangwu, gave an envoy from the kingdom of Wa, as Japan was then known, a solid gold seal, with a handle in the form of a coiled serpent.Such seals, or hanko, are still commonly used in Japan in place of signatures on official documents and contracts.During the covid-19 pandemic, with many workers forced to defy social-distancing guidelines and trudge to their offices to put ink to paper,the hanko captures corporate Japan’s struggle to modernise its anachronistic workplace culture.

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公元57年，中国光武帝给来自倭奴国的使者，即当时的日本，一块纯金铸造的金印，金印上有一个蛇钮。在日本仍然常用这样的印章（hanko）在官方文件和合同上代替签名。在新冠状病毒疫情期间，许多员工被迫违反社会距离的准则，赶到办公室，并把墨水涂在纸上进行签字，日本企业努力去对过时的办公室文化进行现代化建设，而印章抓住了这一斗争的时机。

Despite its reputation for hi-tech wizardry, Japan can be stubbornly analogue.When the pandemic hit, only 40% of Japanese firms had used digitised contracts at all and just 30% had systems in place to enable remote working.Faxes remain ubiquitous; in many prefectures, doctors have been faxing coronavirus test results to public- health officials.
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尽管日本以其高科技上非凡的成就而闻名，它固执的程度可以与之类比。疫情袭击日本时，只有40%的日本公司使用数字化合同，只有30%的公司有系统支持远程办公。传真仍然无处不在；在许多县，医生们已经将冠状病毒检测结果传真给公共卫生官员。

The pandemic has also exposed Japan Inc’s unusually heavy reliance on face-to-face communication.Meeting clients or business partners in person is de rigueur.The Japanese style of collective decisionmaking depends on people huddling in a room together.Salarymen and women put in long days in the office to demonstrate their dedication to their company and colleagues-and then late nights of sake-fuelled carousing to build camaraderie.

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这场疫情也暴露了日本一场严重地依赖于面对面的沟通。亲自会见客户或商业伙伴是不必要的。日本式的集体决策取决于人们挤在一个房间里。工薪族在办公室里花了很长时间来展示他们对公司和同事的奉献精神，然后在深夜的清酒狂欢中建立起友谊。

注释

1.adapt to 适应
The world will be different, and we will have to be prepared to adapt to the change
世界会变得不同，我们必须做好准备以适应其变化。

2.in person 亲自，当面
She went to New York to receive the award in person.
她亲自前往纽约领奖。

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