35 Pct of Japan Local Govt Officials Face "Customer Harassment"

   Tokyo, April 25 (Jiji Press)--The internal affairs ministry said Friday that 35 pct of local government officials in Japan have experienced harassment such as unreasonable demands and unpleasant behavior by administrative service users and other related parties.
   The "customer harassment" rate for officials of prefectural and municipal governments shown by the ministry's first-ever survey on the matter far exceeded the 10.8 pct for private-sector employees found by the labor ministry in its survey in fiscal 2023.
   "Local government officials may be more prone to such harassment than corporate workers because unlike commercial services, which can be offered selectively to customers, administrative services should be provided fairly and equitably," an internal affairs ministry official said.
   The latest survey was conducted between November and December last year for 20,000 officials from 388 randomly selected local governments. Of the officials, 11,507 responded.
   It also found that 72.5 pct of cases of harassment against the officials came from frustration among local residents and contractors or was aimed at causing trouble for them, while 17.5 pct was prompted by officials' work at customer service counters, such as mistakes.

(2025/04/25-16:04)

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