Japan Human Rights Due Diligence Guidelines

Japan published non-binding guidelines on human rights due diligence for businesses in September 2022, following the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The guidelines encourage Japanese companies to conduct human rights due diligence across their value chains but stop short of creating legal obligations.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been monitoring corporate uptake of the guidelines and is now considering whether to convert them into a mandatory framework, in response to pressure from the EU to harmonise standards as part of bilateral trade negotiations.

For suppliers in Southeast and South Asia, the Japanese market is significant. A mandatory HRDD framework in Japan would create new compliance demands on suppliers to Japanese companies. The timeline for any mandatory framework, however, remains uncertain.