TOKYO -- A Japanese labor ministry panel is deliberating measures companies should take to prevent harassment of student job seekers, following several reported cases of sexual and other forms of abuse.

The panel is expected to make sexual harassment of female students subject to preventive measures, but remains divided over whether to include other forms of harassment, such as "stress interviews" and power harassment. The ministry aims to conclude its discussion by the end of the year and submit a bill to the Diet in 2025.

The Labor Policy Council, which advises the labor minister and includes representatives from both business and labor, is examining the issue. Sexual harassment in job hunting became a major concern in 2019 after an employee of a large company was arrested for alleged indecent assault against a female student visiting him as a school alumnus. Other similar cases followed, leading both business and labor representatives to agree on the need for mandatory measures to prevent sexual harassment of job-hunting students.

The panel has proposed concrete actions for companies, including setting up consultation desks for students, establishing rules for interviews, and issuing apologies in appropriate cases. These measures would apply not only to graduating job seekers but also to interns and mid-career applicants.

In addition to sexual harassment, labor representatives on the panel are advocating for broader preventive measures against other types of harassment, such as deliberately intensely stressful interviews and maternity harassment of mid-career job seekers.

However, employer representatives on the panel are hesitant to expand the scope to include non-sexual forms of harassment. Current laws on power harassment require a clear hierarchical workplace relationship, with superiors in a position to harass subordinates.

Since job-hunting students don't fall under that definition, it may be challenging to recognize them as victims of power abuse. Panel experts have also pointed to cases where companies ask applicants challenging or uncomfortable questions to assess their suitability for the job, raising concerns about how to distinguish these practices from abusive interviews.

The labor ministry is considering revising the Act on Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment, which addresses workplace sexual harassment, as well as the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures. The ministry plans to finalize its recommendations by the end of December.

(Japanese original by Aya Shiota, Lifestyle, Science & Environment News Department)