Photo/Illutration Tokyo officials meet with relevant parties on May 22 to discuss measures to halt customer abuse against service sector employees. (Kaho Matsuda)

The Tokyo metropolitan government has decided to submit an ordinance to help protect service sector employees from customer abuse and aggression.

It will be the first regulation addressing what is known as “kasu-hara” (customer harassment) set by a prefectural government, according to Tokyo officials.

The government plans to adopt the ordinance after metropolitan assembly approval within this fiscal year.

“We’re committed to urgently approving this innovative ordinance, designed to effectively address all forms of customer harassment,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said at a May 22 meeting with officials from industry groups and labor unions.

During the meeting, Koike discussed proposals for the ordinance, which have been developed by a working group within the metropolitan government since last fall.

The working group proposes having the ordinance define customer harassment as “violence, threats and other illegal acts against workers” and “unfair acts that harm the work environment.”

It also wants the ordinance to explicitly state that “customer harassment will not be tolerated” by any service provider, public or private.

However, the group recommends against including penalties for kasu-hara in the ordinance, favoring it as a deterrent rather than a punitive measure.

This is because customer harassment encompasses a wide range of behaviors, making it difficult to clearly define acts that could be subject to penalties.

Additionally, there is concern that specifying such acts could lead to an increase in other forms of abuse that fall outside the definition.

Customer harassment can manifest in various forms, from excessive demands and verbal abuse to threats and even physical violence.

A wide range of service sector workers, including bus drivers, restaurant servers, call center operators and local government employees, have reported abusive customer behavior.

Currently, however, there is no law that defines customer harassment or sets out measures for companies to protect their employees.

Some argue that the Criminal Code’s provisions on threat and assault can be applied to serious cases of customer aggression.

Labor ministry officials are also considering revisions to existing legislation to combat customer harassment.

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