"Japan's Foreign Ministry to create post monitoring human rights abuses" 3 December 2021

Japan's Foreign Ministry will create a new post for a senior officer responsible for monitoring human rights abuses amid the growing awareness of the issue across the world, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday.

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The creation of the new post comes as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is trying to keep in step with major democratic nations that are locked in an intensifying standoff with China over the alleged repression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and the crackdown on Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.

"Japan has been promoting human rights diplomacy, under which we have encouraged nations that are making efforts to protect human rights to make further progress on their own, and the importance (of such diplomacy) has been increasing amid mounting concern over issues of human rights infringement," Hayashi said.

The foreign minister added that the government also needs to focus on human rights issues in economic activities in the private sector.

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Europe and the United States have imposed sanctions on China over the Xinjiang issue while Tokyo has been more cautious in its response.

Currently, Japan has no plans for new legislation to allow sanctions on foreign government officials accused of human rights violations similar to the Magnitsky Act in the United States. Britain, Canada and the European Union have already introduced a similar law.