Kasuhara カスハラ - Harassment by Customers
(April 16th 2025)

“The customer is god” goes a well-known Japanese saying. And indeed, the country is celebrated for its exceptional level of customer service. In recent years, however, some Japanese customers have been taking liberties and exploiting the willingness to provide good service in unsavoury ways.

As un-Japanese as it may seem, there have been reports of customers being rude to staff, throwing things at them or even demanding that staff get down on their hands and knees to apologise. These are clear cases of “kasuhara” (カスハラ) - a portmanteau of the English words “customer harassment”, meaning exactly that: Harassment by customers.

Faced with an increasing number of kasuhara cases, the Tokyo Metropolitan government has now begun to act. A few days ago, the "Tokyo Customer Harassment Prevention Ordinance" has come into effect. Under the guideline, all businesses in the city will be mandated to make efforts to eliminate customer harassment – for example by creating manuals on how to identify and deal with kasuhara.

Although the ordinance has no penalty clauses, it marks a shift: Maintaining the uniquely Japanese customer service and accepting legitimate complaints while protecting the dignity of workers: This seems to be the new way forward.