Japanese Audit Standard for Textile Industry (JASTI) Formulated

1. Purposes of and background to the formulation of JASTI

As countries around the world have recently been called to take action to address the issue of sustainability, including human rights, the Japanese textile industry has also been under increasing need not only to improve its efforts to address issues in the social and human rights areas but also to fortify its international competitiveness.

Given the issues of the sustainability of the textile industry and the expansion of business to overseas markets in which growth is expected, Japan’s failure to keep pace with other countries in addressing these issues may lead to the loss of business opportunities for the industry. It is essential for Japan to address such issues.

Against this background, METI launched the “Study Group on the Strategy for Developing Rules for Responsible Business Conduct in the Textile Industry” (Chair: Dr. Shintaku Junjiro, Specially Appointed Professor, School of Business Administration, Meiji University) in September 2023. METI also established the “Working Group for Studying the Formulation of JASTI under the study group and held repeated discussions at the working group meetings. Based on the initial discussion results, it held further discussions on approaches to formulating JASTI as standards based on the current situation of the Japanese textile industry and establishing a system of operation for a third-party auditing scheme, while taking into account international certification activities and related initiatives. Finally, METI formulated JASTI following the March 19, 2025, approval of the Textile Industry Subcommittee under the Manufacturing Industry Committee of the Industrial Structure Council.

2. Overview of JASTI

Encompassing the core labor standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO),¹ which are international standards for human rights, JASTI focuses on the social and human rights areas and consists of audit requirements and evaluation standards that fully cover the minimum requirements for compliance for SMEs and other companies.

In addition, JASTI covers not only basic domestic laws and regulations but also, in some sections, actions that companies should take (e.g., formulation of policies and development of systems) in accordance with international standards and human rights standards.

Moreover, concerning the standards for determining the compliance of companies when conducting a third-party audit in accordance with JASTI, JASTI sets different standards for the first third-party audit and the subsequent third-party audits. This will help companies to smoothly handle third-party audits and also provides a framework that encourages companies to continue making efforts to improve the labor environment after the audit is completed.

3. Utilization of JASTI as an additional requirement for companies intending to accept foreign human resources with specified skills

The Technical Intern Training Program is an initiative through which professional foreign human resources who play a leading role in fields facing serious labor shortages are accepted as human resources in Japan. In September 2024, the Japanese government added the textile industry to the target fields of the program, and it requires the textile companies to satisfy an additional requirement for accepting foreign human resources with specified skills, namely that “companies should conduct business while complying with international human rights standards.” ^(*2) METI decided to additionally define JASTI, which it formulated at this time, as one of the standards for the certification and audit procedures that companies are required to undertake to confirm their compliance with the additional requirement. Through this effort, it will encourage companies intending to accept foreign human resources with specified skills to undergo a third-party audit in accordance with JASTI, thereby broadening the base on which the Japanese textile industry raises awareness of and makes efforts for protecting human rights.

Related Materials (in Japanese)

• Japanese Audit Standard for Textile Industry (JASTI)(PDF:580KB)
• Information on the Technical Intern Training Program

Related Links (in Japanese)

• Subcommittee on the Textile Industry under the Manufacturing Industry Committee
• Study Group on the Strategy for Developing Rules for Responsible Business Conduct in the Textile Industry
• Working Group for Studying the Formulation of JASTI
• JASTI General Secretariat (Japan Textile Federation)

Division in Charge

Lifestyle Industries Division, Manufacturing Industries Bureau