Japan’s railway companies unite to battle ‘customer harrassment’ as incidents rise
Railway operators in Japan are uniting to battle the increase in ‘kasuhara’, or ‘customer harassment’, incidents across the rail network.
A unified effort has been initiated by railway operators which will involve the prominent display of awareness posters specifically designed to warn travelers against harassing staff, after the number of incidents recorded increased.
Each section of the poster addresses a different issue encountered by staff during day to day operation of Japan’s railways.
The poster is based on the concept of “You may be harassing me without knowing it,” highlighting the fact that many actions taken by railway users may cause staff to feel uncomfortable or in danger whilst performing their jobs.
The first section on the poster is aimed at the manner in which customers may choose to address staff.
Customers are reminded to not become aggressive or behave rudely towards staff, as this can cause discomfort or in extreme cases, lead to fears for staff safety.
The second section targets a more modern issue – travellers taking video footage of incidents to share on social media.
Travelers are asked not to video station staff as they undertake their duties, as this could cause distraction. As train stations are busy areas with fast vehicles passing through, staff must be alert at all times and any small distraction could result in an accident.
The third section highlights an issue that may not be on everyone’s minds, but can still fall under the loose term of “harassment” – taking up the time of railway employees unneccessarily.
If you’ve ever travelled on public transport, you’re bound to have come across that one customer who has an infinite amount of questions to ask of staff before they make their journey.
It’s expected that many travelers will have queries, however railway operators are asking customers to consider whether the time taken by their queries can be considered reasonable, as staff may need to deal with a large number of customers in a small amount of time.
The final section covers those travelers who make excessive demands of staff, which can cause them to become distracted from their duties.
This can include travelers who require too much assistance, such as being directly walked to the specific area of a station they need to get to as they cannot understand directions, or customers who refuse to take station staff at their word and escalate issues to management.
Again, it’s expected that in some cases, station staff may be in the wrong and escalation is totally warranted. Railway companies are however asking that customers consider whether the need for escalation is required and only proceed if they are certain there is no other resolution.
Whilst railway companies do appreciate that customers opinions are valuable, and that in many cases customers may have valid grievances.
The main aim of the posters is intended to request that all customers communicate with railway staff politely and respectfully, as they would expect to be treated in their own jobs.
The railway operators participating in this joint initiative include the following entities:
- Hokkaido Railway Company
- East Japan Railway Company
- Central Japan Railway Company
- West Japan Railway Company
- Shikoku Railway Company
- Kyushu Railway Company
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Transportation
- The Association of Japanese Private Railways
- Tohoku Railway Association
- Hokuriku-Shinetsu Railway Association
- Kanto Railway Association
- Chubu Railway Association
- Kansai Railway Association
- Chugoku Regional Railway Association
- Shikoku Railway Association
- Kyushu Railway Association
With the posters set to go up at stations and inside train cars across Japan from the 17th of April 2025, railway staff are hoping that even a small reminder to always treat them respectfully can make a big difference and lower incidents of ‘customer harassment’.
Source: JR East Press Release