Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. is one of the best-known insurance companies in Japan, and at the moment, the company is focused on a broad push towards greater digitization. This is what made Sompo become an early pioneer for tonari, connecting its Narita branch and Choshi branch back in 2021.

Now Sompo has installed two additional tonari, this time connecting the Business Reform Promotion Department offices between Shinjuku and Nakano offices. This team is working to implement better automation processes across the company. And now with tonari, these teams, once separated by distance, are now always in sync.

A member of the Shinjuku team told us, “The tonari spaces are very comfortable and allow us to have more casual conversations and spark new ideas with a wider range of members we hadn’t met in real life. Until now, we could only hold social gatherings by coming together at one of the offices, but now we can frequently meet up during lunch just through tonari.”

A member of the Nakano office told me, “tonari enables communication that fuses online and offline. It’s quite natural to see who is over on the Shinjuku side. Even when things get busy and everyone has to work as individuals, but it’s still great to feel like you can see the reactions and physical condition of the other people, and even casual conversation leads to fresh ideas.”

For Sompo, tonari connects separated offices as one, which improves productivity and better engages the employees.

A design for an inviting space that can also be private

For Sompo, we designed the tonari spaces to create a unified atmosphere between the two sections of the Business Reform Promotion Department. We built an open, comfortable space where people can casually stop by tonari, offer new ideas, and exchange opinions. The design allows members from both sides to see each other at any time.

At the same time, the Nakano floor has a glass-enclosed space that maintains the openness while preventing the discussions over tonari from interfering with the work of other departments. Private face-to-face meetings are also possible by closing the door.

About Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

Sompo Japan is an insurance company focused on property insurance with a top market share in the domestic insurance market. Under the brand slogan of “Innovation for Wellbeing,” Sompo is a leading company in the industry and an early advocate of digitalization and SDGs.