Sony Interactive Entertainment Publishes Customer Harassment Policy for Japan
Published a month before the revised labor law makes harassment countermeasures a legal obligation for all Japanese employers, the policy signals SIE is treating customer harassment as a compliance matter, with criminal proceedings explicitly on the table.
Key Facts
- Sony Interactive Entertainment published its customer harassment basic policy for Japan on September 1, 2026, on the PlayStation Support page.
- The policy lists eight examples of customer harassment, including forcing employees to kneel, attacks on individual employees, and unauthorized visits to company offices.
- The revised Act on Promotion of Measures to Prevent Unfair Labor Practices takes effect October 1, 2026, making customer harassment countermeasures mandatory for all companies.
- Sony Interactive Entertainment may restrict or stop responding to customers confirmed to have harassed employees, and may pursue legal measures including criminal proceedings.
- Square Enix, Capcom and Arc System Works have published similar customer harassment policies since 2025.
Reporting from 3 sources: Automaton, GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.
Sony Interactive Entertainment published a basic policy on customer harassment for Japan on September 1, 2026, on the PlayStation Support page. The policy says the company will respond sincerely to customer voices and use them to improve services, but will not tolerate speech or demands that exceed socially acceptable bounds. It lists eight examples of harassment, including persistent or prolonged demands, excessive or unreasonable compensation or apology requests, abusive language, threats and slander, demands unrelated to products or services, intimidating attitudes or forcing employees to kneel, discriminatory or sexual remarks, attacks on individual employees, and unauthorized visits to offices or facilities. When harassment is confirmed, SIE may restrict or stop responding to the customer, and may consider legal measures including cooperation with police and lawyers and criminal proceedings. The policy follows the revised Act on Promotion of Measures to Prevent Unfair Labor Practices, which takes effect October 1, 2026, and makes customer harassment countermeasures mandatory for all companies. SIE joins Square Enix, Capcom and Arc System Works, which have published similar policies.
The policy carries a note that the eight listed examples are not exhaustive. SIE says it will respond firmly to such behavior and aim to build a healthy, sustainable relationship while respecting both customers and employees. When harassment is confirmed, the company may restrict or stop responding to the customer to protect employee safety, and may consider legal measures including cooperation with police and lawyers and criminal proceedings.
SIE is the latest game company to formalize a harassment stance. Square Enix published its customer harassment policy in January 2025, and in April 2026 it was revealed that a person who posted a video lowering the social standing of Square Enix employees and Final Fantasy XIV related people settled with an apology and payment. Capcom published its policy in July 2025, when the Monster Hunter Wilds official X account also posted about excessive slander. Arc System Works reaffirmed its March 2025 customer harassment and social media policies on official X in May 2026, days after the Guilty Gear series account posted similar content.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.