Japanese law recognises two types. Quid pro quo harassment is where an employee who rejects sexual conduct suffers a consequence such as dismissal, demotion or a pay cut. Environmental harassment is where sexual conduct makes the working environment so unpleasant that the employee cannot perform properly. It covers words as well as acts, conduct between people of the same sex, whatever the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity, and conduct by customers and business partners, and it can happen at drinks after work or on a business trip as much as in the office.
Like power harassment, the statute does not make it an offence or create a direct claim. It obliges the employer to take measures. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act first imposed a duty of consideration in 1999, strengthened in 2007 into a duty to take specified measures: a clear policy that harassment will not be tolerated and how it will be dealt with, a consultation point, prompt and accurate investigation, measures for the victim and against the harasser, privacy protection and no retaliation against those who complain. Since 2020 the law has also barred unfavourable treatment of employees who report harassment, and asks employers to cooperate when another employer investigates harassment by their staff. From 1 October 2026, employers must also take measures against sexual harassment of job seekers, such as students on internships or candidates in interviews.
Victims sue in tort, and employers are liable for their employees. Courts also uphold firm discipline. In the Kaiyukan case in 2015, the Supreme Court upheld suspension and demotion of two managers for repeated sexual remarks to female staff, stressing that the company had trained staff and made its rules clear.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Interviewers are now in scope. Recruiting managers and anyone meeting candidates need clear rules on private meetings, personal questions and after-hours contact.
- Training is evidence. Kaiyukan shows that a documented, regularly trained policy is what lets discipline stand.
- Hierarchy suppresses complaints. In a deferential office culture, absence of complaints is not absence of harassment. An external consultation point helps.
- Senior hires bring their norms. Reference checks for leaders of Japan teams should cover how they behave at after-hours events.
Sources
- Act on Securing Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment, Article 11, as amended (2006, 2019 and 2025).
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, guidelines on measures against sexual harassment.
- Supreme Court, Kaiyukan case, 26 February 2015.
- Cabinet Order setting the effective date of the 2025 amendments (in force 1 October 2026).