Necessary move
Faced with increasing cases of service staff being treated rudely, bullied, insulted, and even physically abused by customers - in Japanese called kasuhara - many businesses in Japan have taken steps to protect their employees.
In early July this year, Takashimaya was the first major department store chain to announce measures against kasuhara. They warned that customers will not be allowed to behave rudely at Takashimaya stores and will invite the police to handle cases of intentional aggression.
Previously, at the end of June, two airlines All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines also cooperated to develop employee protection guidelines. According to the guidelines, kasuhara is defined as “the practice of a customer taking advantage of his or her dominant position to commit illegal acts or make unreasonable demands, causing harm to the employee's working environment.” ”.
Japan has long been famous for "pandering" to customers, worshiping customers as kamisama (God), but is currently reconsidering the view that "the customer is always right".
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has pledged to take action with a law presented to Parliament.
Meanwhile, Tokyo may be the first city council among 47 prefectural and city councils across the country to pass regulations against customers bullying employees.
A spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government noted that kasuhara is on the rise in both quantity and severity: "There are cases where workers have their dignity violated and suffer psychological damage from Excessive demands or unreasonable customer complaints".
Tokyo's draft regulations state that "no one is allowed to insult or bully employees," but do not include penalties. This is because a specific definition of kasuhara could be counterproductive and "sends the wrong message that behavior outside the definition is permissible", the spokesperson added.
According to Japanese Government data, the service industry accounts for 70% of the country's workforce.
Kasuhara acts can range from verbal insults to physical altercations and physical attacks. In some cases, employees were forced to kneel and apologize, while others were severely berated by customers for hours. Some people have their personal information published online.
In June, convenience store chain Lawson announced it was giving its employees the power to opt out of having their full names displayed on their employee badges. A month ago, FamilyMart applied a similar policy.
In Japan, more and more pharmacists, supermarket cashiers, bus and taxi drivers, and medical staff at clinics are choosing to remain anonymous.
East Japan Railway Company and Nintendo also said they will refuse to serve customers who behave rudely with employees.
Dr. Kyoko Shimada from Kokoro Balance Lab, which specializes in researching mental health issues, said kasuhara has caused mental health problems such as psychological damage and depression, especially among employees at companies without support systems. To date, there has been at least one kasuhara-related suicide that occurred in 2018.
Looking for causes and solutions
Experts say the downside of Japan's strict service standards is that it causes excessive expectations and creates a perception of a hierarchical relationship between customers and employees.
“Excellent service makes customers happy, but can create excessive demands that customers must be served,” said sociologist Hiromi Ikeuchi from Kansai University's Department of Psychology. The problem is that some people are taking advantage and making selfish or unreasonable demands."
Many surveys have been conducted in Japan and the results show that 1 in 2 employees working in the service industry has suffered kasuhara in recent years, the majority of perpetrators being men in Japan. age 40 and older.
Dr. Masayuki Kiriu - Head of the Department of Sociology at Toyo University and an analyst, said that those who bully employees often see themselves as superior and "look down on those who serve them". The doctor noted that it is necessary to distinguish a legitimate complaint from disruptive behavior through the customer's tone and attitude.
Recognizing this as a social problem, the Japanese Ministry of Labor issued guidance on how to protect employees from kasuhara by 2022. Through 2023, the Ministry continues to revise standards for recognition of injury caused by customers is an accident at work.
The Japan Confederation of Trade Unions (Rengo) in 2022 conducted a survey, which found that 76.4% of service workers questioned had been negatively affected by kasuhara, including 1 in 10 quit one's job.
Technology companies are currently promoting solutions to this problem. In particular, SoftBank is building software based on artificial intelligence that can eliminate anger in human voices when talking over the phone. Voice changing technology makes angry customers sound calmer over the phone, helping employees avoid the stress of dealing with verbally abusive customers. Softbank aims to commercialize this software in March 2026.
Dr. Kiriu is working with Fujitsu to build an AI-based training tool to deal with rude customers. Accordingly, it can guide employees in responding to cases of kasuhara and estimate the severity of each specific case so that the tool provides appropriate guidance.
Dr. Kiriu and Dr. Shimada participate in an advisory group that helps companies develop anti-kasuhara measures.
“Victims are directly pressured by the customer's anger, but indirectly due to lack of support from colleagues or employers, they end up taking it upon themselves,” says Dr. Shimada. ”.
Professor Ikeuchi said that given Japan's frequent labor shortages, companies need to pay more attention to the welfare of service workers and not view them as easily replaceable.
"Otherwise, retail standards will be affected, which could lead to a vicious cycle of increasing kasuhara causing more people to quit their jobs" - Ms. Ikeuchi emphasized.
