Japan service-sector staff to get protection from abusive customers

Give them some space, they already been harassed by their boss and their senior through pawa-hara , now customer want their harassments share?

"Protecting human rights and the safety and security of our employees is a must for us to offer good services," the railway operator's president, Kazuaki Hasegawa, told a press conference.

Well, it is sort of a human rights issue but such a statement upholds and reinforces the kind of "human rights" Japanese authority likes to focus on, which are "rights" one citizen asserts against another citizen, rather than the rights a citizen asserts against authority.

The customer is always right.

JR East cited cases of abuse, such as customers grabbing a worker by the arms, making discriminatory remarks and taking pictures of an employee without permission.

.,

I can agree that physical abuse is certainly wrong but the other two?

What constitutes a discriminatory remark?

It is so vague and even if it were ‘discrimination’ then how does that apply to railway staff?

I am scratching my head.

Taking photos without permission?

There is no law in Japan against this.

Everyday in shops, on roads, car parks and in public offices there are cameras which record is.

I’ve never given my permission for that.

JR is barking up the wrong tree.

Legitimate customer complaints must be heard and taken care of. But many of those overbearing and abusive customers are cowards who only attack people who are not allowed to hit back.

In response, the labor ministry is considering legislation to require firms to take protective measures such as compiling manuals on how to respond to abuse, government sources said.

If it is as enforced as the labor protection laws in Japan that allow gross abuse and the flourishing of abuse from 'black' companies, many incorporated and listed on the stock exchange, then it will amount to nothing.

https://www.wired.com/story/karoshi-japan-overwork-culture/

https://japantoday.com/category/business/update1-seven-eleven-failed-to-pay-wage-portions-to-store-workers-for-years

As designed by the Japan Inc./LDP combine.

Well, it is sort of a human rights issue but such a statement upholds and reinforces the kind of "human rights" Japanese authority likes to focus on, which are "rights" one citizen asserts against another citizen, rather than the rights a citizen asserts against authority.

Thanks for that great summation @ Moonraker for the neo-feudal agenda of the LDP that can also be seen in many other G-20 nations with their corporate sponsored governments.

It will also introduce lawyers to employees who want to take legal action against harassers.

With large upfront fees and little hope of significant settlements. The same as with cases against the egregious theft and abuse by corporations.

Japan's legal system is 100 percent for the LDP corporate establishment and against labor.

Local government offices will be able to make use of "Kasuhara" as something to reduce during human rights week in December, along with school bullying, which is an old favourite, and making things "barrier-free". You will rarely find a campaign that targets authority. "Human rights" becomes something which the Japanese citizen can thank authority for being handed down to them. Few understand how human rights are supposed to empower them against it.

@kurisupisu

Taking photos without permission?

There is no law in Japan against this.

JR is barking up the wrong tree.

I think it really depends on the intention of the person taking the photos. Of course, if someone is taking photos of JR staff because they're into trains or on holiday and want to remember the atmosphere of where they've been, that is not abuse. But when angry people take photos of staff with the obvious intention of harassing them or making them feel uneasy, then there is a problem.

I appreciate that workers everywhere in Japan, in all lines of work, are over-polite towards everyone, but I think companies should consider letting employees talk back to abusive customers.

Taking photos without permission?

There is no law in Japan against this.

there are nuanced laws.

While Japanese law doesn’t clearly spell out “portrait rights,” Article 13 of the Constitution outlines the liberty and happiness of its citizens as being supreme. Thus, photographers will use this as a basis to decide whether to include pictures with visible faces in them. That means it’s better not to shoot people in compromising situations.

And the photographer can be sued civilly

matters surrounding portrait rights are a civil issue, not a criminal one. That means the police are not supposed to get involved if someone doesn’t like the fact they’ve been photographed. They’d have to talk to a lawyer.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2023/01/30/issues/first-rule-street-photography-club-always-carry-camera-preferably-analog/#:~:text=Contrary%20to%20popular%20belief%2C%20taking,after%20the%20photo%20is%20shot.

@ Strangerland

Thanks for the info.

It would seem to be almost impossible for an action to be taken against a street photographer then.