"Employers Rapidly Implement Japan’s Guidelines on Business & Human Rights", 11 Sept 2023

...On September 13, 2022... Japan released the “Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains” (the “Japan Guidelines”).  In doing so, Japan became one of the first non-Western countries to develop a legal framework on business and human rights (BHR).   

To be sure, the Japan Guidelines are just that – non-binding guidelines. In other words, they are not enforceable, in contrast to Western BHR laws like the French Due Diligence law or the German Supply Chain Act. Nonetheless, the adoption of these Japan Guidelines by Japanese companies has been rapid...

The Japan Guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and adopts the international standards of the [UNGPs] , the [OECD] Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the [ILO]'s Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy...

The Japan Guidelines apply to all companies or independent contractors conducting business in Japan, regardless of their size or industry, and regardless of where they were incorporated or registered...

They also apply to Japanese companies’ group companies, and their service providers, suppliers, and other entities in which they invest...

Japanese companies’ adoption of these steps have been rapid. 64.8% of large Japanese companies have already implemented a human rights policy. About 28.8% of these companies are already conducting human right due diligence, but it is expected that this number will increase to 71.9% in a few years. Among the companies that already conducting due diligence, over 70% of them are requiring their global suppliers to be compliant with their human rights policy...

As one of the first non-Western countries to implement a BHR legal framework, Japan will likely influence other countries in the APAC region, as well as the overall Western focus of BHR developments...