The Hokkaido Prefectural Government has launched a dedicated website to support businesses in preventing customer harassment, known in Japanese as "kasuhara," the prefecture announced ^[1]. The site offers seminars and individual consultations for business operators in both online and in-person formats, held across six regions of Hokkaido: Hakodate, Asahikawa, Kitami, Obihiro, Kushiro and Sapporo ^[1]. Applications and inquiries are handled by the secretariat, Career Bank Corporation, by phone or email ^[1].

The initiative follows a national legal change: the amended Act on Comprehensive Promotion of Labor Policies was promulgated on June 11, 2025, requiring employers to take measures against customer harassment, and it took effect from October 2026 ^[1]. Hokkaido has also enacted its own Customer Harassment Prevention Ordinance and an accompanying set of guidelines, which set out the responsibilities of the prefecture, customers, businesses and residents in preventing such harassment ^[1].

According to the prefecture, a fiscal year 2023 survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare found that 63.8% of workers who experienced customer harassment felt anger, dissatisfaction or anxiety, and 46.1% reported reduced motivation to work, with some repeat victims reporting insomnia or needing medical treatment ^[1]. Hokkaido operates a free "Harassment and Labor Consultation Call," staffed by licensed labor and social security attorneys, to handle inquiries on customer harassment and other labor issues ^[1]. The prefecture has also produced awareness posters, including multilingual versions in English, Chinese (simplified and traditional) and Korean aimed at inbound visitors and foreign residents, along with desktop pop-up signs that businesses can print and display at counters, registers or back offices ^[1]. Readers seeking seminar dates, venues or consultation details should check the special website or contact the secretariat directly ^[1].

Source credit 出典：「北海道カスタマーハラスメント防止対策特設サイト」（北海道）（https://www.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/kz/rkr/hokkaido-kasuhara.html）、CC BY 4.0（https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ja）を加工してJapan News (j.apan.news)が作成 This article is Japan News's own English summary of the Japanese original. It has been translated and edited by Japan News; it is not an official translation, and the Hokkaido Prefectural Government did not write or review it.