Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance,Refugees

April 22, 2024
Japanese

1. Background

  • (1) In 2005, The United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights appointed Professor John Ruggie of Harvard University as the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises at the 69th session. He then presented the "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework (the UN Framework) drafted through consultation with civil society and governments, at the 8th session of the Human Rights Council(HRC) The UN Framework categorizes relations between multinational corporations and human rights into three pillars: (1) the State duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business enterprises, (2) the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and (3) access to remedy. While the UN Framework clarifies the state duty and the corporate responsibility that relate to the impacts on human rights of business activities, it places emphasis also on the needs for mechanisms enabling access to effective remedies, and lists specific areas and cases the relevant actors are expected to undertake as their duty or responsibility. The aforementioned framework was unanimously welcomed by the HRC in resolution A/HRC/RES/8/7 which was presented at its 8th session.

  • (2) For the implementation of the UN Framework, Professor Ruggie drafted the "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework (the UNGPs)” that was endorsed at the 17th session of the HRC in 2011. Consequently, the HRC in resolution A/HRC/RES/17/4 established the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises (the UN Working Group), consisting of five independent experts whose mandate includes promoting dissemination of the UNGPs, exchanging good practices and lessons learned and conducting country visits.

  • (3) The UN Working Group encourages all states to develop a national action plan as a step to implement the UNGPs. In response, many states have launched the development of their national action plans in accordance with their national circumstances and regulations. Since 2013, more than 20 states, including the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the United States, Germany and France, have issued their national action plans. Moreover, the 2015 Leaders' Declaration G7 Summit in Elmau stated that the G7 strongly supports the UNGPs and welcomes the efforts to set up substantive action plans. The 2017 Leaders' Declaration G20 Summit in Hamburg also requested G20 members including Japan to work towards establishing adequate policy frameworks such as national action plans.

2. National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

Background to the launch of Japan's National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

  • (1) Through the statement delivered in the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in November 2016 and Japan's SDGs Implementation Guiding Principles, Japan announced its intention to formulate a National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights. Japan further reiterated this intention in the "Expanded SDGs Action Plan 2018" decided at the 5th meeting of the SDGs Promotion Headquarters in June 2018 as well as the "SDGs Action Plan 2019" decided at the 6th meeting of the SDGs Promotion Headquarters in December 2018. Furthermore, the "Growth Strategy 2018" approved by the Cabinet in June 2018 specified to formulate a NAP for respecting human rights as basic principles of business behavior.

  • (2) Having reviewed approaches to the development of NAPs on business and human rights undertaken in other jurisdictions, in the initial stage of the NAP formulation process, the Government of Japan, decided to undertake the Government-led baseline study with the aim of capturing the current landscape to what extent current legislation and policies provide for the protection of human rights in the context of business. In this process, the Government of Japan conducted a desk review undertaken by all relevant government ministries and agencies and organized consultation meetings with multi-stakeholders (Summary of the Consultation Meetings Organized for the Baseline Study (PDF) Open a New Window). In December 2018, the Government of Japan issued a report which summarizes the outcomes of the study (Report of the Baseline Study on Business and Human Rights (Executive Summary) (PDF) Open a New Window ). It is of the view that the baseline study will contribute to increasing awareness of the topics involved in the new and developing area of business and human rights.

  • (3) The Government of Japan believes that the development of the NAP pertaining to respect for human rights in business activities, which is becoming a new global standard, will enhance the promotion of human rights in business activities. Encouraging Japanese companies to advance progressive initiatives on respecting human rights in the context of business will also contribute to boosting and maintaining Japanese companies' competitiveness in the market. In the process of the NAP formulation, the Government of Japan established an Advisory Committee for the NAP on Business and Human Rights to obtain views from experts on the NAP formulation process upon request from relevant government ministries and agencies. The Government of Japan also established a Working Group on the NAP on Business and Human Rights, with a view to discuss among various stakeholders.

  • (4) In July 2019, taking into account the views from the aforementioned Advisory Committee and the Working Group, the Government of Japan identified five general priority areas of the NAP and fourteen points of views to particularly consider in the process of formulating the NAP. (Towards formulating the National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights (PDF) Open a New Window）

  • (5) Following the discussions undertaken at the aforementioned Advisory Committee and the Working Group, the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Japan’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights created a first draft of the NAP in February 2020 and invited public comments on the NAP through e-Gov (the official web portal of the Government of Japan, only available in Japanese).

  • (6) In October 2020, with the aim of promoting respect for human rights in the context of business activities, the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Japan’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights launched the NAP.
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(Video) Japan's National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights
(2020-2025)Open a New Window

（Related information）

Working Group on the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

The Working Group on the NAP on Business and Human Rights was established to discuss among various stakeholders including from relevant government ministries and agencies, the business sector, a trade union, civil society organizations and other relevant organizations. The Government of Japan has convened the Working Group six times throughout the process of formulating the NAP.

Advisory Committee for the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

The Advisory Committee for the NAP on Business and Human Rights was established to obtain views from experts on the NAP formulation process upon request from relevant government ministries and agencies.

Towards the Implementation of Japan's National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

In the implementation and review stages of the NAP, in March 2021, an Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Implementation of Japan's National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights was established to promote cooperation among relevant government ministries and agencies. In December 2021, the Inter-Ministerial Committee was reorganized into the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Policy Promotion for the Implementation of Japan’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. The reorganized Inter-Ministerial Committee will follow the progress of the NAP's implementation.

The Roundtable for Promoting the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

In accordance with the NAP, the Inter-Ministerial Committee organized a Roundtable for Promoting the NAP on Business and Human Rights as a framework for continued dialogue among relevant government ministries, experts and stakeholders from different fields. It aims to promote efforts for the implementation and review of the NAP with the cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders.

Questionnaire Survey on the Status of Efforts on Human Rights in the Supply Chains of Japanese Companies

From September to October 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, conducted a survey “Questionnaire Survey on the Status of Efforts on Human Rights in the Supply Chains of Japanese Companies”. The survey was the first official survey on corporate efforts for business and human rights made by Japanese companies, and was conducted as a part of the NAP follow up aiming to gauge the status of Japanese companies’ efforts.

A Compilation of Case Studies on Business and Human Rights

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prepared "A Compilation of Case Studies on Business and Human Rights" to help to boost the introduction of human rights due diligence in Japan by providing a more concrete picture of human rights due diligence, mainly for business enterprises promoting initiatives for business and human rights. This compilation of case studies is the summary of the results of the interviews with the companies recommended by the SDGs Promotion Bureau of Keidanren and the National Conference of the Association of Small Business Entrepreneurs about their initiatives related to business and human rights.

Review of the Implementation of Japan’s NAP on Business and Human Rights

In accordance with the Chapter 4. in the NAP, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Policy Promotion for the Implementation of Japan’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights follows the progress of implementation of the NAP on an annual basis.

First Year Review of the NAP (from October 2020 to the end of March 2022) (in the works)

Japan’s Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains

On 13 September, 2022, the Government of Japan released the Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains. The Study Group on Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains to support business efforts to respect human rights, led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, has been working on formulating cross-industry guidelines for business enterprises since 9 March, 2022.

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