In Japan nearly two in five office workers work from home a minimum of once a week, particularly if they work in IT or consultancy, according to Nikkei research undertaken in 2023.

When a global IT company announced they would be leasing out four floors in their Tokyo office last year, in response to changing working habits following Covid, G4S approached them to be their security provider. 

They had already been doing access control and meet and greet at the eight-storey building for the last 10 years.

Eiki Hata, Representative Director of G4S Secure Solutions Japan, says: “The security requirements for a multiple tenancy building are quite different from a single occupancy. You have more people coming and going, companies have different requirements – more sophisticated and robust protocols are required.”

After being awarded the new contract, G4S doubled its headcount on site and configured new access control systems for each floor; some of the new tenants wanted to keep their existing passes which G4S was able to accommodate.  

Health and safety 

Eiki says that 40% of G4S’s remit is health and safety and they will provide support during natural disasters, such as earthquakes or flooding. This includes checking if there is any damage to the building alongside the facilities team and offering assistance to local residents who may take refuge there. They will also hold regular evacuation drills for the whole building. 

Security officers are also trained in first aid, which includes administering CPR and using a defibrillator. They will also call for an ambulance if required and direct them once on-site.

The officers are also responsible for ensuring everyone shows their ID at reception and all guests are booked in, as per the company’s global policy. 
 
Eiki explains: “Japan is one of the safest countries in the world: if you leave your wallet somewhere, it’s likely that you’ll get it back without losing any money. However, that also means that Japan has a very low awareness of risk and our security officers need to be able to explain why these protocols are in place when questioned. When you just have one company in a building it’s easy to enforce operational rules, but with multiple tenants that’s less easy to do - customer service skillsare really important.”

Flexibility and adaptability

This company is one of a number of multinationals, spanning various sectors, that G4S provides security for in Japan. Other business lines include close protection and risk consulting. 

Eiki explains that part of the appeal is that G4S can more readily recruit staff that speak English than local companies, which many multinationals require. He says: “Less than 5% of the Japanese population speak English, we are not like Hong Kong or Singapore which are international hubs in APAC.”

He continues: “Another advantage that G4S has is that we can speak to other countries and ask them to share their experiences, helping us to create a seamless security consultancy for our clients.”

Eiki says that flexibility and adaptability are other trademarks: “We are the smallest business within G4S; we are growing the business and want to fulfill our clients’ requests even if it’s difficult or not straightforward.”