Japan|In April, a regulation aimed at tackling a growing social problem will come into effect in the Japanese capital.
Japanese people customer service agents are disturbed so much that the phenomenon has its own Japanese name, kasuhara.
Efforts are now being made to stamp out the harassment in Tokyo with a separate regulation, The Guardian news. The regulation is local and applies only to the country’s capital. The solution was reached due to pressure from trade unions.
The provision states that “no one may engage in customer harassment anywhere” and that society as a whole should strive to prevent abuse of customer service staff. However, the regulation recognizes the importance of objective feedback for companies.
However, according to The Guardian, the provision that will enter into force in April 2025 does not contain any mention of the possible consequences of violating the provision. Instead, experts hope that its existence will highlight a growing social problem and encourage people to think about how they behave towards customer service agents.
According to a trade union survey conducted this year, almost every second employee in the service sector has experienced harassment. The cases ranged from, among other things, verbal harassment to the disclosure of personal information on social media.
According to The Guardian, there are also cases where customers have wished for the death of the customer service representative.
Japan’s Ministry of Labor is reportedly considering tightening legislation on harassment in various sectors, such as public transport, the restaurant industry and call centers.
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