Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance,Refugees

The in-person seminars and workshops were held in two cities, Hamamatsu and Fukuoka, with a total of 33 participants. The theme was Business and Human Rights (BHR) from the perspective of the active participation of foreign employees in Hamamatsu, and from the perspective of the SDGs in Fukuoka.

In the seminar, we introduced an overview of BHR, domestic and international trends, and the corporate responsibilities. Additionally, in Hamamatsu, Professor TANNO Kiyoto of Tokyo Metropolitan University Graduate School gave a lecture on responsible employment of foreigners. In Fukuoka, Kitakyushu City introduced its initiatives as a leading city in SDGs city. Japanese local companies also shared their experiences and initiatives (Hamamatsu: Hirano Vinyl Industry, Co., Ltd. and Fukuoka: GREEN CROSS Co., Ltd.)

In the workshops participants, including the speakers at the seminars, interactively shared the issues, questions, and opinions regarding BHR and learned from each other.

We received the comments from participants such as "It was meaningful to hear about case studies from other companies," "It was good to have a deeper conversation with the speakers,” and “I felt that we need to take a more serious approach to this issue.”

The overseas seminars were held online in two countries (Thailand and Singapore), with a total of 342 participants.

Following the briefs on an overview of BHR, human rights issues, and governance gaps in the countries where the seminar was held, Japanese companies conducting business in the countries introduced their specific initiatives regarding BHR (Thailand: Takasago International Corporation and Suntory Holdings Ltd., Singapore: Ajinomoto Co., Inc. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.).

We received the comments from participants such as "It was helpful to understand not only the best practices, but also the practical compromises,” "I gained information that I do not encounter in my daily work, which will be helpful for my future activities,” and “While the headquarter has conducted assessment, we got valuable information as a branch office.”