Mie Eyes Japan’s 1st Rule with Penalty against Customer Abuse

Tsu, Mie Pref., Oct. 7 (Jiji Press)–The Mie prefectural government plans to create what it says will be Japan’s first ordinance with a penalty aimed at deterring customers from behaving abusively to workers. The ordinance would define customer abuse as excessive nuisances that go beyond social norms and harm employees’ working environment. Vicious behavior, such as shouting to demand an apology, would be classified as designated customer abuse. When a business files a complaint of customer abuse, the prefectural government will ask a panel including lawyers to investigate and seek opinions. If the act is ruled to be designated customer abuse, the governor will issue an order banning the perpetrator from committing such an act. The perpetrator will be fined if the order is not observed. The fine is likely to be about 500,000 yen. Public servants and schoolteachers are also expected to be protected by the envisioned ordinance. The Mie government aims to submit a draft of the ordinance to the prefectural assembly next June. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]