Tokyo passes nation’s first customer harassment ordinance

In a first for the nation, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government passed an ordinance to protect workers from customer harassment — aggressive behavior and unreasonable demands from customers toward staffers — at a metropolitan assembly session held on Friday.

The order is to be implemented from April next year, with plans for the metropolitan government to develop more detailed guidelines, but it does not include any criminal punishment.

“The main philosophy (of the ordinance) is mutual respect between workers and customers,” Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said at a news conference on Friday. “We plan for it to function effectively in ensuring a comfortable consumer experience as well as continuation of business and will work out the specific contents of the guidelines to ensure that they can be properly implemented on the ground.”