The Cabinet approved Friday a series of legal revisions banning any form of workplace harassment and obligating companies to prevent abuses of power or bullying.
The package of bills, also aimed at promoting the advancement of working women at smaller firms, will take effect in stages from fiscal 2020 at the earliest if passed by the Diet during the current session.
Under the bills, harassment by those taking advantage of their more senior positions at the workplace is specified as a prohibited act. But the legislation does not set punitive measures to be taken against violators.