Seven-Eleven Japan, the largest convenience store chain, announced on the 5th its guidelines for dealing with customer harassment, in which customers make unreasonable demands on employees. The guidelines were formulated in 2022 and shown to employees, but this is the first time they have been announced publicly. They are also considering putting up posters in stores to protect employees from victimization.

The guidelines list examples of acts that constitute customer harassment, such as assault, intimidation, and demands to kneel down on the ground, and state that the company will “deal firmly with” customer harassment. However, they do not specify how to respond. The guidelines also state that the company will further improve its employee consultation system.

Among the major convenience stores, Lawson has announced its basic policy on customer harassment, and other retailers that serve large numbers of people are making announcements one after another.