April 3rd, 2013

Caux Round Table

Caux Round Table Japan

Human Rights Due Diligence
Comments on Prison Labour

Caux Round Table Japan (CRT-Japan) has undertaken a series of human rights due diligence workshops,and issued the draft version of the “Human Rights Issues by Sector” paper as an outcome of fourmonths of multi-stakeholder discussions at the workshop. The draft was open for public consultation
between January 10th and 30th 2013. Valuable comments from different organizations at home andabroad have been received. Amongst them, the submission from the Japan Federation of Printing
Industries raised an issue that many companies may face during the course of conducting human rights
due diligence. Since it could potentially relate to all companies, I would like to share that discussion
here.

1.

The Comment from the Japan Federation of Printing Industries“The description of prison labour in the printing sector in the Human Rights Issues by Sector document
may lead readers to misunderstand that only the printing sector uses such labor. In Japan, the use ofprison labour is facilitated by the national policy. Therefore, it should be treated as a common issue
related to all sectors.”

2.

The Comment from an expert

I asked the human rights expert who had pointed out this issue at the workshop for further comment, inorder to clarify the actual situation. The comment from the expert is as follows:“It is correct that the issue of prison labour is not limited to the printing industry. This should be clearly
indicated in the “Human Rights Issues by Sector” document. However, at the same time it is not
appropriate to conclude that a company has no responsibility in relation to prison labour on the grounds
that it is carried out pursuant to national policy. Since prison labour can involve a company’sresponsibility to respect human rights in terms of utilization of its “leverage”, the company should takeappropriate action, including collective action, to tackle the situation.

Prison administrations are making efforts in the current financial climate to receive orders for prison
work in line with the Correctional Association Prison Industry Cooperation (CAPIC). However, prison
labour in Japan involves a number of problems such as extremely low wages (4,0000yen/ month), strict

経済人コー円卓会議日本委員会〒150-0031 東京都渋谷区桜丘町 29-33 渋谷三信マンション 505 号室
電話: 03-5728-6365 FAX: 03-5728-6366 http://www.crt-japan.jp

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Caux Round Table

prisoners should also be recognized as a related problem. There are indications that former prisoners
sometimes go back to prison because they cannot find a job, and because prisons are the only place inwhich they can receive welfare.

It is clear that the state has the primary responsibility to take appropriate measures to improve theconditions of work for prison labours and the situation in regards to the welfare of former prisoners.
However companies should take a wider perspective, bear these issues in mind and think carefully
before commencing projects utilizing prison labour. This is why prison labour is mentioned in thecontext of business and human rights (e.g. in the Ruggie framework).
The problems in Japanese prisons are described in detail in a report issued by the Ministry of JusticePrison Administrative Reform Conference in 2005. Since most of the problems pointed out in the report
are still unsolved, NGOs and the Japan Federations of Bar Associations are working together to tackle
the situation. Giving support to these organisations could also be an effective way for a company tocontribute to the improvement of the situation.”
3. CRT Japan’s view on prison labour - how does a company deals with prison labour?According to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which provide guidance inrespect of conducting business in accordance with the UN “Protect, Respect, Remedy” Framework,business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights. Applying this principle to prison
labour in Japan, a company has a responsibility to identify, mitigate and address any negative impacts ofits corporate activities on prisoners’ rights. In order to carry out this responsibility, I believe that the firststep for a company is to understand the problems and its root causes. Thereafter, raising awarenessabout existing grievance mechanisms, such as the grievance system at the Japan Federations of BarAssociations, as well as taking collective action through Nippon CSR consortium to require thegovernment to improve prisoners’ conditions, would be realistic and appropriate.

Hiroshi Ishida
Executive Director, Caux Round Table Japan

経済人コー円卓会議日本委員会〒150-0031 東京都渋谷区桜丘町 29-33 渋谷三信マンション 505 号室
電話: 03-5728-6365 FAX: 03-5728-6366 http://www.crt-japan.jp

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