Customer Harassment in Japan: October 2026 Duties, First Steps, and Questions for Employers
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Category: Work Styles
Authors: Shusaku Yosa
Workers in customer service, call centers, and sales should be able to seek organizational support when facing abuse or excessive demands. Customer harassment, often called kasuhara in Japan, needs to be distinguished from legitimate complaints.
Employer prevention measures under the amended Act on Comprehensive Promotion of Labor Policies became mandatory on October 1, 2026. This guide uses public information checked on October 19, 2026, after implementation. See the MHLW reform information.
The definition and its limits
The framework requires all three elements: conduct by a customer or related person; conduct beyond socially acceptable bounds in light of the nature of the work and other circumstances; and harm to the employee's working environment. Customers are not limited to individual shoppers. Business partners and facility users can also be relevant. The ministry's revised FY2026 manual explains that employers in B2B as well as B2C settings must address the issue.
A request for an explanation about a defective product or a refund under the contract is not harassment merely because it is a complaint. Conversely, a complaint with a legitimate basis still requires separate consideration when the method becomes threatening or personally abusive.
Asking an organization to stop disability discrimination, or expressing a need to remove a social barrier, is not itself customer harassment. Customer rights and reasonable-accommodation obligations remain relevant. See the ministry's detailed leaflet.
Separate the request from the behavior
These are fictional examples created for this article, rather than definitive legal classifications.
Situation | Distinction to examine | Useful facts for a report |
|---|---|---|
A customer asks about a product defect | Product handling and the person's conduct | Purchase circumstances, requested action, explanation given |
Repeated demands and insults follow a refund explanation | Substance of the request and repetition or personal abuse | Words used, frequency, duration, surrounding circumstances |
Someone presses for an employee's home address | Connection with the service and the personal-information request | Information requested, manner, any threats |
A business partner forcefully seeks work outside the contract | Contract scope and the extent or method of the demand | Differences from the agreement, communications, effect on work |
Describe what happened rather than only calling the customer unpleasant. The preceding interaction, including any inadequate explanation by the business, also needs checking. Uncertainty does not prevent seeking advice.
Employer duties extend beyond training
The ministry's reform explainer describes policies and communication, consultation arrangements, prompt responses after incidents, deterrence of particularly malicious conduct, privacy protection, and protection against disadvantageous treatment for consulting.
For employees, the practical questions include who can take over, what happens when a manager is absent, and who follows up after a report. A reminder to provide courteous service cannot explain those operational details by itself.
First steps when an incident occurs
The prevention guideline gives examples such as avoiding solo responses where possible, involving managers, and reporting potentially criminal behavior to police. It also calls for broad consultation responses when classification is uncertain.
- If there is danger, move to safety and seek help from a manager or security. For an immediate emergency such as imminent violence, call 110.
- Once safe, note the time, place, conduct, witnesses, and impact on work. Preserve emails through approved company procedures.
- Ask a supervisor or consultation contact about reassignment and future communications. If the supervisor does not respond, check another route such as HR.
- Consider rest, medical care, or occupational-health support if physical or psychological effects continue. You do not need to establish a complete legal case before consulting.
Check company policy and personal-information handling before recording. Do not risk your safety to gather evidence. Sharing records with an appropriate contact differs from publishing them on a personal social-media account.
A fictional reporting note
“On October [date], after I explained the return conditions at the counter, the customer repeatedly insulted me personally. I requested a manager's assistance, but no manager was present. Colleague B witnessed the exchange, and related communications remain in the work email system. The customer has said they will return. I would like to discuss avoiding a solo assignment and the escalation procedure.”
Adapt this editorial example to the facts you can provide and the support you need. You need not wait for a complete set of records.
Questions before accepting a customer-facing job
- Who can take over when a new employee encounters difficult customer behavior?
- What escalation route operates at night or when the usual manager is absent?
- Who decides when to end a call or pause an interaction, and on what criteria?
- Which team handles reassignment and review after a report?
Ask about processes without seeking customers' names or victims' personal information. A manual's existence is only a starting point; check what support applies to your prospective team. Record unanswered points as unknowns.
Our separate workplace power-harassment guide covers conduct within workplace relationships. The psychological-safety guide discusses raising concerns. If you need advice about an employer's response, consult the General Labour Consultation Corner information.
