Miki Shoko Co., Ltd. Modern Slavery Statement Fiscal Year 2021
1． Introduction
The following Statement was issued by Miki Shoko Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Miki Shoko”) based on theU.K. Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the Australian Modern Slavery Act (hereinafter, both slavery acts
collectively referred to as “Modern Slavery Acts”). This Statement provides a summary of the activities
conducted by Miki Shoko and all group companies described below (hereinafter, “Miki House Group”) inorder to comply with laws and regulations and prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in thegroup’s business activities and supply chain.
This Statement provides a report of the activities conducted until February 2022, based on the risks ofmodern slavery and human trafficking that were identified in human rights due diligence conducted inAugust 2019.
2． Organization Structure and Business Overview
Trade name

Miki Shoko Co., Ltd. (Miki House Group)

FoundedApril 1971

Established

September 1978

Capital2,030 million yen

Description ofPlanning, manufacture, and sale of family-related products, mainly

businesschildren’s clothes and other products for children; cultural activities such as
publishing, education, and support for child rearing, etc.

Offices

Offices Headquarters/Osaka
Tokyo OfficeForeign corporations: France, the United States, England, China

Major group

MIKI HOUSE, MIKIHOUSE FRANCE,companies

MIKIHOUSE Americas, MIKIHOUSE U.K.,
MIKI (Chengdu) Trading Co., Ltd.,MI K I H OUSE Ch ild -re a rin g R es ea rc h Ins ti tu te Co . , Lt d ., MIKI
HOUSE & Shogakukan Production Co., Ltd., MIKI HOUSE Trade Co., Ltd.

Sales

Sales: 16,654 million yen (fiscal year ended February 2021)

Staff

569 (current as of February 2021)*The information and data used in this Statement are based on those acquired as of the end of February 2022.

3． Supply Chain
Many of the factories involved with the products of the Miki House Group are located in Japan, China,and Vietnam, with 230 factories involved in the manufacturing of products as of the end of February 2022.
We started ascertaining and surveying our supply chain in 2017. In FY2021, we did partial surveys on
our secondary suppliers and material procurement sources as well as on our product production factories(primary supplier factories).
The number of factories identified via SAQ conducted as human rights due diligence in August 2019 was
151 (number of factories for approx. 90% of our gross purchases at the time), with the number of workers
being 23,624. The confirmed numbers of workers were 3,860 in Japan. Outside Japan, there were 10,881
in China, 8,324 in Vietnam, 900 in Myanmar, and 352 in Thailand.
4． Policies Concerning Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
Since 2018, Miki Shoko has been publishing the following documents, updated as needed to incorporate
the opinions of outside stakeholders, and these documents also serve to support the compliance programof the company. They have been approved by the President and CEO as group-wide policies in the Miki
House Group.
-https://www.mikihouse.com/assets/docs/miki_shoko_policy_on_human_rights_for_suppliers.pdf-

https://www.mikihouse.com/assets/docs/miki_shoko_code_of_conduct_for_suppliers.pdf-

https://www.mikihouse.com/assets/docs/miki_shoko_csr_procurement_policy.pdf-

https://www.mikihouse.com/assets/docs/miki_shoko_policy_on_migrant_worker_for_suppliers.pdf

In order to ensure that our suppliers comply with the applicable laws and Modern Slavery Acts, we revised
the above “Policy on Human Rights for Suppliers” and “Code of Conduct for Suppliers” and enacted theabove “Policy on Migrant Worker for Suppliers” in January 2020.
Our goal was to require our suppliers, as business partners, to have an understanding of the concepts in
the Modern Slavery Acts and work to identify, prevent, and minimize the risks of human rights violations.
5． Human Rights Due Diligence Concerning Modern Slavery, and Risk Management
In response to the above modern slavery risks identified in our Statement in FY2019, we took thefollowing actions in FY2020 and FY2021.
Collaborative Efforts with Relevant Organizations
Miki Shoko announced support for the “Tokyo Declaration 2020 on Responsible Acceptance of ForeignWorkers” (April 2020), which was issued based on discussions in the Corporate Subcommittee of theForeign Workers Roundtable that Miki Shoko had been participating in since FY2019. Miki Shoko willcontinue conducting activities in cooperation with other companies, governments, and NPOs/NGOs inorder to realize the contents of the declaration.
Miki Shoko has been participating in the "Japan Platform for Migrant Workers towards Responsible andInclusive Society" (JP-MIRAI) hosted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) since October
2020. The platform helps to deepen the understanding of problems faced by migrant workers at factories
inside and outside Japan, particularly with regards to the modern slavery system that arises from theproblem where some workers are required to pay fees in order to work. The platform also conducts
activities to improve the working and living environments of migrant workers and contribute to realizing a
multicultural society inside Japan.
Efforts Concerning the Technical Intern Program at Supplier Factories in JapanDue to the COVID-19 pandemic restricting our activities, we had to reluctantly cancel the on-site fieldstudies that we had been conducting. Therefore, in FY2021, we took the following efforts when the spreadof COVID-19 had declined.
Twenty-five domestic supplier factory companies where we had conducted field studies were primary
supplier factories responsible for sewing products. However, in consideration of the importance to conduct
these field studies throughout the entire supply chain, we conducted our first field studies for secondary
suppliers from August to September 2021, at two companies with dyeing factories inside Japan and who
are responsible for dyeing materials. Going forward, we plan to continue conducting field studies and auditsof secondary supplier factories that employ technical intern and work to make improvements to working
environments.
Also, in February 2022, we conducted follow-up surveys following our previous field studies of two
primary supplier factories, both of which confirmed progress in improving matters indicated in the previous
field studies.
6． Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
FY2021 was another year in which the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on international society.
In particular, the lockdowns in Vietnam and China slowed down the production functions and logistic
functions of both countries, which had a major impact on the production plans and sales plans of Miki
Shoko. However, under global circumstances in which the future is unclear, we have placed importanceon conducting business while considering how we can contribute to society.
With regards to the effects on supply chains, the Japanese government has implemented strict travel
controls, on both inbound and outbound immigration, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and it isundeniable that these controls have had a major impact on the employment of technical intern. For
example, factories who were to employ these interns were unable to employ the personnel they needed
according to their employment plans, and they were unable to maintain sufficient personnel. Following theconclusion of the training plan, interns were forced into circumstances in which they were unable to returnto their home countries. There have been reports of tragic cases of interns being terminated, having noway to return to their home countries, and then getting involved in crime. With cases like this, it was clearthat the environment surrounding migrant workers is now in grave circumstances.

The supplier factories of Miki Shoko have also faced unavoidable and harsh circumstances with regards
to maintaining personnel, and the grievances regarding maintaining employment of migrant workers havebeen taken into consideration. In order to check these circumstances, we conducted our “Questionnaire
Concerning Confirmation of Status of Technical Interns” in May 2021 and received responses from 15factories. The summary of the survey results indicated that, while these factories made efforts for measures
to bring in new interns and to help those facing difficulties returning to their home countries, we were able
to get an idea of how factories were handling the maintenance of personnel and maintaining productivity
while using exceptional measure systems such as extending worker visas or changing the visa status. In
response to these efforts, continuously assuring and maintaining the product order volumes from theperspective of Miki Shoko, the buyer, we worked with our suppliers to conduct measures to overcome thispredicament.
Also, in conjunction with the rising number of coronavirus vaccine injections throughout Japan, we
conducted our “Questionnaire Concerning Injection of Coronavirus Vaccines” in September 2021 in order
to confirm that there were no migrant workers who are deemed difficult to obtain information from thegovernment, that they are being provided correct information concerning vaccination, and that vaccinations
are being widely encouraged at factories, and we received responses from 14 factories. The survey results
confirm that workers at all factories were provided appropriate information concerning vaccines and thatthe vaccination status of technical intern and the vaccination procedures for those who had yet to receive
the vaccine were conducted without delay.
The company’s approach is to continue to ascertain the status at supplier factories with Miki Shoko
cooperating as much as possible where necessary. Another approach is to continue maintaining
production orders to contribute to maintaining employment at supplier factories, which will require evenmore efforts throughout the entire Miki House Group as a whole in order to continue our business activities.
7． Grievance Handling Mechanism (Hotline)
Since 2020, Miki Shoko has used a multi-language hotline, “ASSC Workers Voice” (AWV), operated byASSC, as a grievance handling mechanism for the purpose of providing consulting services and relief forworkers. This mechanism has been introduced at 172 supplier factories inside and outside Japan, and it
is operated in cooperation with ASSC.
AWV is a mechanism for promoting support to workers and approaches for fixing issues at suppliers bypromoting cooperation with Miki Shoko in incoming consultations, such as by assuming the role of aconsulting service for workers and providing information related to problems at the workplace.
Explanations are given to workers at supply chain factories through representatives at each factory, andthey are also provided through posters and distributed worker handbooks.

8． Training and Education
In 2020, executive officers and responsible department manager-level staff participated in the “Corporate
Subcommittee of the Foreign Workers Roundtable” organized by an external NGO, where they focusedon gathering information, including that related to trends at other companies, and exchanging opinions on
modern slavery. In 2021, we promoted understanding of the risks of human rights violations in supply
chains, as part of our efforts to promote sustainability in the Miki House Group to management andemployees, through in-house and online training. Miki Shoko will continue to appropriately check the statusof coronavirus infections, and investigate online training about CSR and human rights, through web tools
and other methods, together with our foreign suppliers.
9． Roadmap for Mitigating Risks of Modern Slavery
Miki Shoko has identified the following items as priorities to address from FY2022.
(1)

To continuously conduct surveys of primary and secondary supplier factories and make
improvements against any nonconforming items and promote dialog and engagement.

(2)

Training on Modern Slavery Acts for employees in the Miki House Group
Provision of opportunities for training at supplier factories(3)

Appropriate disclosure of surveys concerning human rights and Modern Slavery Acts

The objectivity of this Modern Slavery Statement is assured by the Global Alliance for Sustainable Supply
Chain, a third-party, non-governmental organization.
This Modern Slavery Statement was approved by Miki Shoko’s Board of Directors on August 29, 2022.

Executive Director/General Manager of President’s Office
Akio Mitsukawa