The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on Friday approved a draft ordinance to prevent customers from abusing workers in a first for Japan, a country where customers are famously referred to as "gods" in the service sector and enjoy a superior position.
Coming into effect next April, the ordinance against so-called "customer harassment" outlines the responsibilities of customers, although it carries no penalties if violated.
It states that "no person shall engage in customer harassment anywhere" and that "prevention efforts must be made by society as a whole" while stipulating the responsibilities of customers, workers, employers and the Tokyo metropolitan government.
However, the ordinance also calls against unfairly infringing upon customer rights because legitimate feedback can help improve business. The Tokyo government plans to create guidelines that specify what constitutes customer abuse.
The ordinance obliges customers to deepen their understanding of the social issue and pay attention to their words and actions toward workers. Employers are also compelled to intervene in situations of abuse and ask customers to stop their behavior.
The Tokyo government had been discussing countermeasures against such abuse since last year with a panel that included labor unions, business organizations and experts. Other regional governments, including those of Aichi Prefecture in central Japan and Hokkaido in the country's north, also aim to enact similar ordinances.
Customer harassment in Japan is characterized by one leveraging their superior position to abuse verbally or make false accusations against service workers. In some cases, victims have developed mental illnesses and been driven to suicide as a result of the emotional damage.
