East Japan Railway, or JR East, has announced that it has drawn up a policy for dealing with "customer harassment," or excessive demands and other problematic behavior by customers toward employees.

According to the policy, the company will not respond to customers who engage in harassment, such as physically or psychologically attacking employees, demanding that employees apologize by getting down on their hands and knees, and posting employees' personal information on social media.

The company said it would consult with police and lawyers about particularly egregious cases of such harassment.

JR East was apparently the first among JR group companies to release a policy regarding customer harassment. Among other railway operators, Tokyo Metro announced such a policy in March.

JR East said that it will continue to sincerely respond to customer opinions and requests, but at the same time considers it essential to protect employees in order to continue to provide safe and high-quality services.