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Published N3 est.3 min read

Japan Publishes New Guide to Help Consumers Avoid Becoming 'Customer Harassers'

It's not just companies that must guard against customer harassment — Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency just published material to help consumers themselves notice when their own complaint is going too far.

Japan Publishes New Guide to Help Consumers Avoid Becoming 'Customer Harassers'
  • On October 1, 2026, Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency published new awareness material to help consumers recognize and avoid becoming the ones committing 'customer harassment' against service staff.
  • The material includes a self-check sheet for three personal tendencies and four real-life scenarios (call center, public transport, retail, restaurant) to explain the psychology on both sides — consumer and staff.
  • It distinguishes 'structural' dissatisfaction from 'sensory/emotional' dissatisfaction, with expert tips on keeping dissatisfaction from turning into harassment.

New material for consumers

On October 1, 2026, Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency published a new awareness booklet aimed at helping consumers avoid becoming the ones committing 'customer harassment' against service staff.

The material explains 'customer harassment' as dissatisfaction or impatience inside a consumer's mind that, depending on the situation, comes out in an excessive way.

Three things to check about yourself

A self-check sheet is included to help readers reflect on three tendencies of their own while shopping or dining: jumping to assumptions, letting emotions 'rush ahead,' and letting frustration build up until it's 'full.'

Four common situations

The booklet covers four concrete scenes — call centers, public transport, retail stores, and restaurants — to explain, in detail, the psychology on both sides: the consumer's and the staff's.

A worksheet usable for role-play exercises is also included, so the material can be used in workplace training sessions and seminars too.

Two kinds of dissatisfaction

Before it turns into customer harassment, the booklet splits dissatisfaction into two kinds: 'structural dissatisfaction' (such as a faulty product or slow service) and 'sensory/emotional dissatisfaction' (such as feeling looked down on).

The booklet also includes expert commentary, with tips on how not to let dissatisfaction turn into harassment, and how not to unintentionally become the one causing it.

Words in this article

消費者庁しょうひしゃちょう
Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency
啓発資料けいはつしりょう
awareness material
不満ふまん
dissatisfaction
従業員じゅうぎょういん
employee
構造的こうぞうてき
structural
手がかりてがかり
clue, hint
労働局ろうどうきょく
labour bureau

Notes

This article was checked on October 1, 2026.

The full material (PDF file) can be viewed on the Consumer Affairs Agency's website. If you experience serious harassment from a customer while working, you can still report it to your company's consultation point or your prefecture's labour bureau.

Source: 消費者庁 (1 Oct 2026)