Tokyo wants to stop customers harassing workers
Listen to the story (Australian accent)
Tokyo has introduced Japan's first regulation to protect service industry workers from "kasuhara," which means "customer harassment." The regulation will start in April but will not have any penalties. Experts hope it will make rude customers think before mistreating staff.
A survey shows that about half of the workers in the service industry in Japan have experienced customer abuse. Some of the abuses are verbal abuse, violence, and harassment on social media. For example, a customer yelled at a supermarket worker in Tokyo because his tofu expired two weeks after he bought it.
These situations also happen in government offices. One worker said an elderly resident told her to drop dead.
The government might make the regulation stricter to protect workers in other industries like public transport and restaurants. Tokyo recently approved the new regulation because of pressure from unions.
Other areas in Japan are considering similar rules. Also, some companies now let workers hide their family names and show only their first names on ID badges to help protect them. A department store in Tokyo said it would call the police on troublesome customers and ban them. Companies like Nintendo announced that they won't deal with abusive people.
The new regulation says no one should harass customers and encourages people to stop abuse. However, it also says real customer feedback is important.
Hiromi Ikeuchi, a professor, said that the increase of “kasuhara” is because of businesses treating customers like gods to be competitive. Now, some customers have unrealistic expectations and feel too powerful.
Vocabulary49 words
- Introduce
- to start using for the first time; launch
- Regulation
- a rule; guideline; law;
- Protect
- To keep something safe; to defend something
- Service industry
- Businesses that provide services for customers, like restaurants, hotels, and stores
- Industry
- business field; area of work or business; type of business
- Harassment
- To bother or annoy someone in a way that is harmful or unwanted
- Penalty
- A punishment in a game for breaking the rules
- Expert
- a person with a lot of knowledge and experience in a trade, job or profession
- Rude
- not polite, mean, insulting, very direct
- Mistreat
- To treat someone or something badly or unfairly; to be mean
- Staff
- The people who work for a company or organization; workers
- Survey
- a poll or questionnaire; a set of questions for the public to understand opinion; a study of something, usually by collecting and analyzing data in order to learn more about it
- Show
- to prove something or make the truth or existence of something known; confirm; demonstrate; to display; to represent
- Experience
- something that happens to you or something you do that affects how you feel; an emotional situation; Something that you have seen, felt, or done, which has given you knowledge or skill
- Abuse
- To treat someone badly or unfairly
- Verbal
- words; Having to do with words; spoken
- Violence
- using physical force/power to cause harm, damage or injury; -
- Social media
- Websites and apps that allow people to communicate and share information online (Facebook, X, TikTok, etc.)
- Yell at someone
- To shout or speak loudly at someone in an angry way
- Expire
- the end of a period of time, the finish period, the time to stop, run out, to be over; to go bad
- Situation
- What is happening at a certain place/time; circumstance; state of affairs; the way it is; event; occurrence
- Government
- the group of people who have the authority to make and enforce laws and manage a country or region; the people/group that manage and operate a country
- Elderly
- Older people; people who are old
- Resident
- a person who lives in a specific place; a person who lives somewhere
- Drop dead
- A rude and offensive way to tell someone to die
- Strict
- severe; harsh; no flexibility; exact; strong
- Public transportation (public transport)
- Buses, trains, and subways that are available for all people to use
- Approve
- officially agree; accept; to say “yes”; authorize
- Pressure
- To apply force or influence to make someone do something, change their behavior or change their opinion
- Union (trade union)
- an organization/group that workers join for protection and support
- Consider
- to think about carefully; to take ‘something’ into account when thinking or deciding;
- Rule
- A guideline or regulation; sometimes a law; A guide that tells us what we should or shouldn’t do
- Hide
- to keep something out of sight; to conceal something; to make something not possible to see; to make it difficult to find something
- Family name
- Last name; surname
- First name
- Given name; forename
- Badge
- A small piece of metal or plastic that people wear to show who they are
- Troublesome
- Causing problems
- Ban
- to not allow; to stop; to forbid; prohibit;
- Announce
- share information openly; to tell the public; to make a statement; to report
- Deal with
- To take action to solve a problem; to handle; to work with
- Abusive
- treating someone badly or cruelly; using rude and offensive words; bad or wrong use of something; bad treatment of someone
- Harass
- To bother or annoy someone in a way that is harmful or unwanted
- Encourage
- suggest that someone does something; persuade; urge; push
- Feedback
- helpful information or criticism to help someone improve; a reaction; assessment
- Professor
- a teacher at a university
- Treat someone like a god
- To show someone a lot of respect and admiration; to be very, very kind to someone
- Competitive
- Trying hard to be better than others.
- Unrealistic
- Not really possible; not practical; very unlikely
- Expectation
- the feeling or belief that something will or should happen; looking forward to or waiting for something
Quiz
Answer key
1. To protect workers from customer harassment 2. A department store in Tokyo 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Tokyo has _____ Japan's first regulation to protect service industry workers from "kasuhara," _____ means "customer harassment." The _____ will start in April but will not have any penalties. Experts _____ it will make rude customers think _____ mistreating staff.
A survey shows that about _____ of the workers in the service industry in Japan have experienced customer _____. Some of the abuses are verbal abuse, violence, and _____ on social media. For example, a customer yelled at a _____ worker in Tokyo because his tofu expired two weeks after he bought _____.
These situations also happen in _____ offices. One worker said an elderly resident told her to drop _____.
The government might _____ the regulation stricter to protect workers in other industries like public _____ and restaurants. Tokyo recently approved the new regulation _____ of pressure from unions.
Other areas in Japan are considering _____ rules. Also, some companies now let workers hide their family _____ and show only their first names on ID badges to help _____ them. A department store in Tokyo said it would call the police on _____ customers and ban them. Companies like Nintendo announced that they won't _____ with abusive people.
The new regulation _____ no one should harass customers, and encourages people to stop _____. However, it also says real customer feedback is _____.
Hiromi Ikeuchi, a professor, said that the _____ of “kasuhara” is because of businesses treating customers like gods to be _____. Now, some customers have unrealistic expectations and _____ too powerful.
Discussion questions
- Do you think the new regulation in Tokyo will be effective in preventing customer harassment? Why or why not?
- How can we encourage people to be kinder and more understanding of other people?
- What other things can companies do to protect their employees from customer abuse?
- Have you ever experienced or witnessed "kasuhara"? How did it make you feel?
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