JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Koichi Saito, Wataru Shimizu, Suguru Yokoi, Ai Tanaka and Mai Kurano, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
Japan has not yet ratified the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No 111), nor the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No 155). As for the former convention, the government explained that it had taken time to consider its consist - ency with domestic laws, and as for the latter, a bill to ratify the convention had been submitted to the National Diet, and the bill was now under discussion. In addition, Japan has adopted, supported, and participated in major international frame - works relating to business and human rights, including the UN Guiding Principles on Busi - ness and Human Rights (UNGPs), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the UN Convention on Chil - dren’s Rights, and the OECD Guidelines for Mul - tinational Enterprises on Responsible Business In October 2020, the government launched Japan’s National Action Plan (NAP) on business and human rights (2020-2025) in response to increased international attention on the need for business enterprises to respect human rights. The NAP lists a series of measures and policies relating to BHR that the government should implement. It also sets out expectations for busi - ness enterprises to promote the introduction of human rights DDs in the context of their busi - ness activities. The government annually reports on the progress of implementation of the NAP. For example, the report on the third-year review (April 2023 to March 2024) released in May 2024 covers dis - cussions on measures to promote the NAP held in government meetings over the course of a Conduct ( “OECD Guidelines” ). 2.2 National and Regional 2.2.1 National Action Plan
year and on progress made, which includes the government’s policy on human rights considera - tions in public procurement, and the progress on the dissemination and aware-raising activities especially among SMEs regarding the Guide - lines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsi - ble Supply Chains. In May 2024, the Inter-Ministerial Liaison Con - ference on the Implementation of the NAP on Business and Human Rights approved the start of the NAP revision work for next year, which will be revised in 2025. 2.2.2 Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence Legislation In Japan, human rights DD has not been leg - islated, and private sectors have not imposed any legal requirements on conducting human rights-related DD. However, in 2021, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) conducted a questionnaire survey for private sectors as one of the implementation measures of the NAP, and the result of the survey showed that private sectors strongly requested the Japanese gov - ernment establish guidelines on human rights DD. In response to the results of the survey, the “Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains” ( “Guidelines” ) were established in 2022, and they were expected to serve as a soft law. Following the release of the Guidelines, METI released “Reference Materials on Practical Approaches for Business Enterprises to Respect Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains” ( “Reference Materials” ). The Guidelines sug - gested that the government prepare additional documents to share with the private sector more details on measures for human rights in a practi - cal manner, including in-depth explanations and
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