The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has passed a groundbreaking ordinance that bans customer harassment, a problem that has plagued workers in various industries. The challenge now is to ensure that the ordinance effectively addresses the issue, as distinguishing between legitimate complaints and harassment can be difficult.
Hirohisa Suzuki, president of Hotel Listel Shinjuku in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, expressed hope that the new law would raise public awareness about the unacceptability of customer harassment. Employees at his hotel often face unreasonable demands from guests, such as yelling at them for minor issues or threatening to post complaints on social media.
To protect their employees, the hotel assigns multiple staff members to handle customer complaints and sometimes even bans certain customers from entering. However, dealing with cases that do not amount to criminal acts but still border on harassment has been challenging.
A survey conducted by labor union UA Zensen revealed that 46.8% of its member employees had experienced customer harassment within the past two years. Many workers have suffered mental and physical illnesses due to this issue and some have even taken their own lives.
In response to requests from the labor community, the Tokyo metropolitan government has been working with experts since last autumn to develop countermeasures against customer harassment. While there were no objections raised about banning such behavior, concerns were voiced regarding potential infringement on customers’ rights if legitimate demands are considered harassment.
To address these concerns, guidelines will be created by the metropolitan government specifying what constitutes customer harassment. These guidelines will be presented to industry representatives by year-end.
The impact of Tokyo’s actions is being felt beyond just its borders. The central government included measures against customer harassment in its Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform for the first time this year. Additionally, an expert panel proposed legislation requiring companies to take action against such behavior. In response, companies like East Japan Railway Co., All Nippon Airways Co., and Japan Airlines Co., have developed plans to deal strictly with customer harassment incidents.
Experts believe that excessive competition among companies contributes to this issue and hope that both consumers and businesses will change their mindsets as a result of this new ordinance.