Progress and challenges in corporate initiatives towards human rights in Japan

Progress and challenges in corporate initiatives towards human rights in Japan Emi Sugawara, Professor at Osaka University of Economics and Law, Faculty of International Studies, continues to examine business and human rights in Japan, charting the progress and challenges in corporate initiatives. Throughout this series, “Business and Human Rights in Japan”, I examine movements regarding business and human rights in Japan, including civil society and Japanese Government initiatives. In this final instalment, we assess the current state of initiatives among Japanese corporations. A distinctive feature of efforts to respect human rights within Japanese companies is that corporate groups have led them. While Japanese corporations have grappled with various human rights issues such as environmental pollution, Buraku discrimination (a term the government refers to as “Dowa” issues) significantly influenced corporate practices in response to right-holder concerns. (1) Buraku discrimination is a form of discrimination based on “decent”, as defined in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. (2)