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Japan Times
17-03-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Tokyo gears up for April launch of law against harassment by customers
As the Tokyo Metropolitan Government prepares to implement an ordinance against harassment by customers next month — the first of its kind in Japan — it has released guidelines on how various companies and organizations can incorporate the new rule into their daily operations. The national government is trailing right behind, having submitted to parliament last Tuesday a bill aimed at mandating that businesses take action. The metropolitan government passed an ordinance last year that would protect workers from aggressive behaviors and unreasonable demands from customers. Known as kasuhara — a portmanteau of the English words 'customer harassment' — in Japan, the issue has gained national attention in recent years. Ahead of the ordinance's implementation in April, Tokyo released guidelines in December that detail what would be considered such harassment, given the difficulty of pinning it down in everyday situations. Under the guidelines, all companies in the metropolis will be mandated to make an effort to eliminate customer harassment, such as by setting up a manual on how to handle suspected cases. There are no penalty clauses for the ordinance. 'What is important is to make the ordinance effective,' said Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike at a news conference on March 7. 'I believe that the critical part is carefully assessing the difference between legitimate complaints (by customers) and harassment, and determining at what point to deal with them in a strict manner.' The metropolitan government followed up earlier this month by publishing a manual that could serve as a reference for companies as well as government offices to establish their own guidelines in dealing with customer harassment. 'Since industry rules (regarding customer harassment) are to be decided from now, we have prepared a manual,' added Koike. 'Here, we have outlined methods of prevention, as well as how to take care of the victims and how to report to and coordinate with the police.' The manual defines customer harassment as being an act that 'harms the dignity and character of the worker' and includes guidance for companies, such as researching what types of harassment are most common in the industry, as well as specific instructions on dealing with problematic customers, such as recording the interaction in case further legal action is needed. In addition to utilizing such guidelines, some companies are taking it a step further. For example, major supermarket franchise Belc announced on Thursday that it would have its employees wear tags saying "staff" instead of their names. With this, the company is looking to protect the privacy of its employees and prevent customers from identifying workers personally and harassing them. In a trial run of the system in 10 of the supermarket's branches, 97% of its employees expressed support for the move. Contact Center Association Japan, an organization that represents call center workers, who often become victims of customer harassment, also released its guidelines on Wednesday based on responses from 2,500 call center workers across 50 companies. In addition to categorizing 12 common cases of harassment at call centers, the guidelines define calls lasting over an hour as "long-term confinement of workers" and calls over three times as being repetitive. On Tuesday, the Cabinet also approved a bill that included measures against customer harassment. The bill, which will undergo deliberations in parliament, urges companies to undertake measures such as setting up a manual that specifies how employees can deal with cases of harassment and who they can consult about such issues.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
Appeal denied for inmate convicted of 2018 Calhoun County murder
CALHOUN COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – The 1st District Court of Appeal has denied a motion from an inmate who murdered his wife in Calhoun County over six years ago. In July 2018, German man Dan Belc killed his wife, shooting her multiple times at her family's home in Blountstown. According to the State Attorney's office, Belc followed his wife to Calhoun County after she left their home in Germany and filed for divorce. Walton County to charge admission at Morrison Springs to reduce crowds After killing her, Belc hauled her body around in the trunk of his car before turning himself in to the Jackson County Sheriff's office. In October 2022, a Bay County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated assault. Belc was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, he appealed the conviction on the basis that the state improperly cross-examined him about pre-trial statements he made and that the court denied his motion for a mistrial based on those statements. He also claims the court should not have denied his motion to suppress statements he made to investigators that led them to a secondary crime scene. Belc's first point of appeal was that his defense was prejudiced by the introduction at trial of his statements that he, a 'foreigner' from Germany, could not get a fair trial in Calhoun County. Officials said he argued his conviction would have been impossible without jurors hearing those statements. However, on Wednesday, the 1st District Court of Appeal denied his appeal, stating the defense did not object to the questions about those statements at trial or move for a mistrial. They also stated that the presiding judge's decisions during the trial were proper. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
