Japan just had one of its most brutal summers on record. Fortunately, we seem to be entering fall and leaving summer in the rearview mirror. However, the season has left a lingering smell – and it’s coming from dudes who refuse to shower. The increasing prevalence of stinky people has left game centers, card shops, and other businesses in Japan wrestling with what to do about their most malodorous patrons.
Announcer fired for complaining that men smell
There’s a fiction (or racial stereotype) that people in Asia don’t give off body odor. That’s a contention that seems contradicted by a short ride on the Yamanote Line on a hot summer day.
It’s also contradicted by the experience of people in Japan. Many complain that the increasingly punishing summers lead to body odor challenges at work. “Smell harassment” has been a hot topic in Japanese news this summer, as employers and employees struggle with how to tell a colleague that they reek.
The subject of body odor is a sensitive one – especially among Japanese men, who seem resistant to the idea that their smelly presence might be intolerable to those around them. In August, free announcer Kawaguchi Yuri found herself at the center of a media firestorm when she posted to X (formerly Twitter):
“Apologies for those with special circumstances, but I can’t stand the body odor from men in summer or the distinct odor of those who don’t practice proper hygiene. I always want to stay clean, so I shower once a day and use sweat sheets anti-perspirant year-round. I’d like men to do at least that much.”
English speakers who reacted to our post about this incident defended Kawaguchi’s comments. (“They hated her because she spoke the truth,” one commenter huffed.) However, Japanese men pilloried her so badly that her agency canceled her contract. Kawaguchi found herself forced to apologize to save her career.
A smell so bad employees “wanted to vomit”
Smell issues among otaku – in both Japan and the West – are a persistent issue. Anime cons in the United States and elsewhere are notorious stink-fests. Last year, voice actress Takahashi Rie made headlines when she asked fans to bathe before her first live concert. She even included a detailed diagram and cheat sheet on good hygiene.
These body odor issues also pose a vexing problem for Japanese businesses. Many historically operate on a philosophy that “the customer is god” and that the needs and concerns of customers come first. However, in recent years, more businesses are pushing back on bad behavior from patrons – particularly those who engage in “customer harassment,” i.e., verbal or even physical abuse of staff.
Given how badly guys can react when called out on their stench, though, some stores are treading carefully. For instance, one trading card shop in Akihabara hung up a sign rather than call out customers individually.
One game center in Japan, though, found that it couldn’t take the gentle approach.
According to the unnamed center, one customer smells so badly that multiple other customers have complained. Even employees say that getting close to the customer makes them want to vomit.
The center confronted the regular, asking them to shower or use deodorant or…something. The customer not only refused, but they got angry and demanded that the staff tell them the names of the other customers who’d complained.
Can a game center ban a smelly customer?
The game center consulted an attorney on the site Bengo4.com. Their question: Can we ban this dude from entering?
The good news: According to attorney Nishimura Yuichi, the company is well within its rights, under Japanese law, to ban a disruptive customer. The only caveat is they have to take care that they don’t open themselves up to an accusation of discrimination. (For example, they can’t refuse service based on someone’s race or nationality – as one Tokyo business did recently.)
In this case, since the store received multiple complaints about this customer based on non-discriminatory grounds, they can bar the person from the premises. The game center also has no obligation, says Nishimura, to tell the customer who complained about their bad BO.
Still, that’s going to be a hard – and potentially dangerous – conversation. Nishimura urges that multiple employees engage the customer the next time they arrive. If the customer refuses to leave, the store can call the police.
This isn’t the first case where a store in Japan’s had to confront a smelly customer. And judging by weather trends, sadly, it likely won’t be the last.
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Sources
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Bathe before entry: Japanese actress and singer asks fans to be clean before her concert. KATV
