Japanese bosses forced female employee to wear bunny ears

TOKYO – A 61-year-old Japanese woman was forced to wear bunny ears as a penalty for missing her sales targets, with photos of her humiliation used in company training programs, reports said.

AFP FILE PHOTO

The woman, who was not named, was employed by cosmetics maker Kanebo in southwestern Oita.

She sued the company claiming mental distress after her bosses instructed her to don costumes if she did not meet her targets, including over-sized rabbit ears on one occasion, several papers reported.

Four of her seniors took pictures of her in the outfits and used the snaps in presentation slides during training programs, the Mainichi Shimbun said.

The woman claimed the company’s actions had caused mental suffering that resulted in physical sickness and had demanded 3.3 million yen ($33,000) compensation, the paper said.

A court upheld her complaint, but ordered the company to pay just 220,000 yen, the Asahi daily said on Tuesday, adding the firm had given her a larger sum than this, according to her lawyer.

The news came as Kanebo on Thursday issued a recall of 54 of its skin-whitening products in Japan and 10 other Asian territories over fears it may cause patches of discoloring.