According to the Japan Times, on October 4, the Tokyo government announced a new decree to deal with harassment from customers, with the goal of protecting workers in the service industry. This Decree will officially take effect from April next year. Although it does not include criminal penalties, the Tokyo government plans to develop detailed guidelines to ensure the decree is effectively implemented.
At the press conference, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike affirmed that the philosophy of the decree is based on mutual respect between workers and customers. The government will carefully calculate so that the new decree is effective while still ensuring a comfortable shopping experience for consumers as well as normal business operations for businesses.
According to the content of the decree, harassment from customers not only directly harms workers, but also negatively affects the business environment. Therefore, this problem needs to be solved by not only businesses but also society as a whole. However, the decree also notes that reasonable suggestions from customers are still encouraged to improve service quality, and businesses need to continue to respect consumers’ rights.
The issue of harassment of service workers has become a serious concern in Japan in recent years. Not only Tokyo, other localities such as Hokkaido and Aichi also recorded the same situation and are planning to implement similar decrees to deal with this problem.
According to survey results conducted in June by the Japanese retail and service labor union UA Zensen, 46.8% of 33,000 workers surveyed said they had been harassed by customers within the past two years. The most common form of harassment is being forced to apologize to customers or facing unreasonable requests to exchange products or services.
The increase in harassment cases in the service industry is requiring stronger measures from governments and businesses to protect employees and ensure a safe and civilized working environment.