"The First Meeting of the “Study Group on Guidelines for Respecting Human Rights in Supply Chains” to be Held" 8 March 2022

The first meeting of the “Study Group on Guidelines for Respecting Human Rights in Supply Chains” will be held on Wednesday, 9 March, as stated by Mr. Hagiuda Koichi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, on February 15. The study group will convene approximately once a month in order to formulate cross-industry guidelines for human rights due diligence, with the aim of compiling a draft of the guidelines by this summer of this year.

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"第2回検討会 事務局説明資料" 24 March 2022

[Japanese-to-English translation: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

Draft schedule for future meetings

9 March: First meeting

24 March: Second review meeting (today)

Late April: Third meeting (discussion on the draft framework)

Late May: Fourth meeting (discussion on draft guidelines)

Mid-June (P): Fifth review meeting (same as above)

End of June: Start of public comments

End of July: Draft guidelines established

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"ガイドライン骨子案（議論のたたき台） " 27 April 2022

[Japanese-to-English translation: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

Draft guideline framework (discussion starter)

1.3 Background and purpose of the Guidelines

✓ The Guidelines are established to provide concrete and easy-to-understand explanations of the initiatives required of companies to respect human rights, based on the UN Guiding Principles and other international standards, in line with the actual situation of companies doing businesses in Japan, thereby helping them to deepen their understanding and promoting their initiatives. [...]

1.4 Companies covered by the Guidelines

✓ Although the Guidelines are not legally binding by their nature, we expect all companies doing business in Japan, regardless of size, industry, etc., to make maximum efforts to respect human rights in their business relationships, including their own and overseas, based on these Guidelines.

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