“Reference Material on Practical Approaches for Business Enterprises to Respect Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains” Released

1. Outline

In September 2022, the Government of Japan released the “Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains.” The Guidelines state that METI prepare materials to present business enterprises with the details of the efforts for respecting human rights in a more specific and practical manner. In response, METI prepared and released such material, collectively titled “Reference Material on Practical Approaches for Business Enterprises to Respect Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains.”

The Reference Material provides in-depth explanations and case examples about the efforts that business enterprises are expected to initially address according to the Guidelines, including “establishing a human rights policy” and “identification and assessment of adverse impacts on human rights (human rights risks).” Specifically, the Reference Material presents examples of components to be included in a human rights policy and explanations thereof, explanations of steps that can be taken to identify the areas of a supply chain where high risks arise (or may arise), and additional reference documents that are useful in finding such risks.

METI will strive to advance activities for raising companies’ awareness of the Reference Material so that a large number of business enterprises make use of it.

2. Related materials (available in Japanese)

• Reference Material on Practical Approaches for Business Enterprises to Respect Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains(PDF:648KB) *English version was posted on June 20, 2023.
• Attachment 1: Reference Material on Practical Approaches for Business Enterprises to Respect Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains (reference documents)(PDF:394KB) *English version was posted on June 20, 2023.
• Attachment 2: Reference Material on Practical Approaches for Business Enterprises to Respect Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains (worksheet templates) (in Japanese)(Excel:54KB)

3. Related Links

• Release of Japan's Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains (September 13, 2022)
• “Business and Human Rights”: Towards a Responsible Value Chain

Division in Charge

Business and Human Rights Policy Office, Minister’s Secretariat