Name and shame: Japan’s tame answer to jobseeker sex harassment
Por Julian Ryall — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Japan This Week in Asia Lifestyle & Culture Name and shame: Japan’s tame answer to jobseeker sex harassment
After years of predatory recruiters targeting graduates, new rules are now in place – but critics say they lack real teeth
4 -MIN READ 4 -MIN Listen
Julian Ryall in Tokyo Published: 9:30am, 4 Oct 2026 Final-year students invited to recruiters’ apartments for help with their applications. Coffee dates with alumni who promise to explain how the company works. Inappropriate interview questions about boyfriends, marriage plans and sex lives. For young women in Japan , looking for a job has long entailed submitting themselves to the skewed power dynamics of the recruitment process.
And before Thursday, no official legal safeguards existed to protect these jobseekers from such harassment.
Campaigners and advocates have welcomed the change, but say it lacks teeth and came years too late, even as societal attitudes may have already moved ahead of it.
Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
