Tourist demands security guard kneel and bow to him, sparks outrage: ‘Coercion and a crime’
A viral video of a man forcing a security guard to kneel and bow at Expo 2025 in Osaka has ignited public criticism over customer harassment.
A video showing a Japanese visitor ordering a security guard at Expo 2025 Osaka to perform dogeza, a deep kneel and bow touching one’s head to the ground, has provoked widespread condemnation in Japan and China, reported South China Morning Post. The incident occurred on April 17 at an entrance to the expo, just days after it opened at the expo site in Osaka Prefecture.
In the footage, the tourist scolds the guard for not providing clear directions to the car park, then insists he dogeza before him. Organisers later explained on April 22 that the demand stemmed from the guest’s frustration at not receiving accurate guidance.
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Many online viewers labelled the episode as a case of customer harassment, known in Japan as kasuhara. One onlooker who filmed the exchange reported overhearing another guard remarking that it looked like “customer harassment.”
Dogeza
A survey by phone service provider After Call Navi last year found that nearly half of respondents had asked employees to perform dogeza, and although around 70 percent of workers viewed it as humiliating, 39 percent knelt simply “to settle the situation quickly,” according to The Mainichi.
Japanese sociologist Hiromi Ikeuchi has noted that some customers, as society grows more consumer-oriented, expect to be treated like gods. Growing backlash on social media suggests kasuhara is becoming increasingly unacceptable.
A user wrote, “A right-minded person would not force someone to dogeza, and would stop other people who tried to dogeza in front of a large number of people.”
Another added, "This was not even customer harassment. It was coercion and a crime.”
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After the clip spread to Chinese audiences, some expressed sympathy for the guard: “He was just another ordinary man forced to bow to the pressure of life.”
Expo officials said they do not plan to involve the police but are collaborating with Osaka authorities to prevent similar incidents. Last year, Tokyo enacted an ordinance protecting service workers from kasuhara, though it carries no penalties.
On April 23, Expo 2025 Osaka welcomed its one-millionth visitor. The event, running until October 13, is expected to draw some 28 million guests.
