In an effort to reassure their customers, a growing number of companies are using stickers and other materials to show that their employees have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
Such moves are well received among customers, but companies must avoid forcing their employees to receive vaccinations and avert bullying and discrimination against workers who are not inoculated. Companies have explored ways to strike a balance to allow customers to shop or use services with peace of mind.
-- Facilitating communication
"Are you looking for something?" "Do you have any questions?"
In late September, a clerk wearing a mask asked such questions while serving customers at Nojima Corp.'s Mark Is Minatomirai store in Yokohama, while keeping a distance of about one meter from the customers. The name tag on his chest bore a red sticker that read, "Vaccinated against the novel coronavirus."
"Only about one person in 10 notices the stickers, but they have been well received and provide a topic for conversation," said store manager Rina Araki, 22.
Nojima, a major electronics retailer, launched the sticker initiative in August. The company has distributed the stickers to its employees, while leaving the decision on whether to get vaccinated up to each of them.
According to a tally by the central government, nearly 70% of the nation's total population has received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
"With the vaccination rate increasing, some customers may wonder whether store clerks have been vaccinated," said a Nojima employee in charge of the initiative. "We came up with the idea of the stickers in consideration of such customers."
Similar efforts have been made by taxi companies. Shachi Daiichi Kotsu, a taxi company in Nagoya, began using similar stickers on taxis from Sept. 1, when 90% of its drivers had completed their second shots. This sticker is put on the left rear-seat window so that it can be easily seen by passengers. According to the company, some passengers have specifically requested that taxis bearing such stickers be dispatched to them.
Another taxi company in western Japan also started displaying such stickers in taxis after a drunk passenger told a driver, "Drivers shouldn't talk to us if we don't know if they got vaccinated or not."
"I think some people are sensitive because of the small space inside the car, but it is necessary for drivers to speak with passengers, for example, to ask where they are going," a company employee in charge said. "We want to continue using the stickers until the situation is brought under control, in order to protect our drivers as well."
-- No forced vaccinations
Under the Immunization Law, which was revised in December last year, people are urged to make efforts to be inoculated against the coronavirus, but the decision on whether to receive the vaccinations is left up to the individuals. Some people are unable to receive vaccinations due to pre-existing medical conditions or for other reasons.
In October, restaurant chain operator Watami Co. began having employees of its about 200 outlets, where customers are served at tables, take antigen tests every two weeks, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated. At the same time, the company has encouraged its employees to get inoculated, and is considering having workers wear badges at a new izakaya restaurant from November so that customers will know who has been vaccinated and who has been tested negative.
"There is nothing wrong with a company's desire to make customers feel safe, but it could cause problems such as peer pressure and invasion of privacy for those who have not been vaccinated," said Shiro Kawakami, a lawyer who chairs the Human Rights Protection Committee of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
"Situations in which people who can't or don't want to be vaccinated feel stressed or marginalized vary depending on the nature of their work. It would be good for each industry to carefully consider human rights and formulate guidelines," Kawakami said.
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