Mandatory from October 1, 2026: Customer Harassment Measures and Protecting Applicants and Visitors from Sexual Harassment

On October 1, 2026, two new anti-harassment duties take effect at the same time. One requires measures to protect workers from harassment by customers and service users — customer harassment（カスハラ, "kasuhara"）. The other requires measures to prevent sexual harassment of people you have not yet hired, such as applicants and workplace visitors. Both bear directly on recruitment, so this guide sets out what hiring managers need to know.

01What changes, and when

02What counts as customer harassment

Customer harassment is conduct that meets all three of the following criteria.

1. It is conduct by customers etc.
   "Customers etc." include users of hospitals and welfare facilities, and people who may use them in the future.
2. It goes beyond what is socially acceptable, in light of the nature of the work and other factors
3. It harms the worker's working environment
   This covers conduct by phone or on social media, not just face to face.

03What employers must do about customer harassment

MHLW's leaflet lists measures along the following lines that employers must take (summary).

04Preventing sexual harassment of "job seekers etc."

Until now, measures against sexual harassment have mainly been about protecting an employer's own workers. From October 1, 2026, employers must also take measures to prevent sexual harassment of job seekers etc. who are not yet employed — "job seekers etc."（求職者等）covers applicants, interns, workplace visitors and others looking for work.

The required measures include setting a policy and communicating it to workers, a policy of dealing strictly with perpetrators, a consultation system (including making it known to job seekers etc.), and a prompt, appropriate response when something happens (establishing the facts, supporting the victim, taking action against the perpetrator, and preventing a recurrence).

05Preparing for workplace visits and trial shifts

One way to think about it (this is our own reading, not the government's view):

• Visitors and applicants may fall under the new measures from October 1, 2026, as "job seekers etc."
• People who sign an employment contract for a trial shift (or who in practice count as workers) are workers on that day, so they are also covered by the existing measures for workers against sexual harassment and power harassment. You should also check how wages and workers' accident compensation insurance apply.

Either way, three practical steps form the basis of your preparation.

1. Decide who is in charge of hosting. For each visit or interview day, decide in advance who will show the person around and who will sit in.
2. Tell visitors and applicants about the point of contact too. Put a contact for problems in your information emails and on-the-day materials.
3. Make sure interviewers and guides know the policy. Careless remarks in small talk can lead not only to sexual harassment but also to inappropriate questions.

06For reference: where care workplaces stand

In the Care Work Foundation's（介護労働安定センター）FY2025 (Reiwa 7) Survey on Long-Term Care Work (establishment survey), 40.8% of establishments said they had initiatives to "protect staff from customer harassment by service users and their families." Of those, 27.4% said the initiatives had "helped staff stay on." This is the establishments' own assessment and does not show a causal link between the initiatives and retention, but it suggests that many establishments have yet to put systems in place ahead of the October deadline.

For nursing workplaces, the Japanese Nursing Association has compiled information on harassment countermeasures. In medical and care settings, it is also worth reviewing your measures against violence and verbal abuse from patients, service users and their families at the same time.