"Japan prodding firms to monitor human rights in supply chains" 18 December 2022

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The government plans to establish a system next fiscal year for giving preferential treatment to businesses that take human rights into consideration when soliciting bids for public works projects, procurement of goods and other services.

Officials hope to motivate businesses, which tend to lag behind their Western counterparts in the field, to work more seriously on human rights issues and achieve mid- and long-term growth.

“To set an example by taking the initiative to respect human rights on the national level, we will consider setting up a mechanism for respecting human rights in government procurement projects,” Gen Nakatani, a special adviser to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for international human rights issues, told a meeting of the U.N. Development Program in Bangkok on Sept. 22.

The government’s inter-ministerial committee on business and human rights, led by Nakatani, compiled a document titled “Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains” on 13 Sept.

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