"ILO welcomes launch of Japan guidelines on human rights in supply chains" 30 September 2022

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has welcomed the launch by the Government of Japan of new guidelines on respecting human rights in responsible supply chains, highlighting the positive nature of their impact both in Japan and internationally.  

On 13 September 2022, the Government of Japan released its “Guidelines on respecting human rights in responsible supply chains ”. These Guidelines aim to stimulate further respect for internationally recognized human rights including fundamental principles and rights at work among Japanese businesses.

“The International Labour Organization welcomes this new commitment by the Government of Japan to promote sustainable and responsible business practices that respect human rights and fundamental principles and rights at work,” said Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “Through the Guidelines, the Government of Japan has strengthened its commitment to international standards and clearly expressed its expectations that Japanese businesses take their human rights responsibilities seriously not only in their operations in Japan, but also in other parts of the world where they have operations,” she added.

The Guidelines explicitly refer to the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) , together with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises as principal international instruments that guide responsible business practices in and outside of Japan.

“We call on the Japanese enterprises to give effect to these new Guidelines and put in place concrete measures to conduct due diligence and meaningful stakeholder engagement to improve their labour practices and contribute to making the entire supply and value chains sustainable and resilient. We also call on the Government of Japan to have robust social dialogue in place to promote the uptake of the Guidelines together with the social partners, and to put in place the necessary policy measures to stimulate the effective implementation of these Guidelines, in line with its duty to protect human and labour rights in business operations as set out in the ILO MNE Declaration and the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights,” said Ms Asada-Miyakawa.

“The ILO stands ready to support the Government of Japan, Japanese enterprises as well as the social partners and other stakeholders including employers’ and workers’ organizations in the effective implementation of these Guidelines”, commented Shinichi Takasaki, Director of the ILO Tokyo Office.

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