Report on 2022 Business and Human Rights Conference in Tokyo

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Hosts:
Caux Round Table Japan
Sponsors:
ANA HOLDINGS INC., Kao Corporation, Suntory Holdings Limited, TEIJIN LIMITED,
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, MEGUMILK SNOW BRAND Co.,Ltd.
Cooperation:
Miyake & Partners, Tokio Marine dR Co., Ltd.
Foreign Organizations
UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub, Institute for Human Rights and Business,
Verisk Maplecroft, World Benchmarking Alliance, The Danish Institute for Human Rights,
The Remedy Project
Participants
277 people in total

Host

SponsorCaux Round Table Japan
Shibuya Sanshin Mansion 505, 29-33 Sakuragaoka-cho Shibuya-ku Tokyo 150-0031 JAPANhttp://crt-japan.jp/en/

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The 2022 Business and Human Rights Conference in Tokyo, hosted by Caux Round Table Japan (CRT
Japan) was held on the 21 of October 2022. The conference was held online, same as last year in considerationof the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 277 participants, 154 companies and 15 organizations

Caux Round Table(NGO/NPO/universities/individuals). The conference had three pillars, focusing on (1) enhancing awareness andunderstanding of the latest trends in business and human rights, (2) facilitating collaborative work to promoterespect of human rights, and (3) facilitating the implementation of United Nations Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

Eleven years have passed since the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were approvedby the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, and legislation requiring companies, particularly in Europe and theUS, to implement and disclose supply chain management has accelerated in recent years. Legislation requiring
companies to implement and disclose supply chain management has accelerated in recent years, particularly inEurope and the United States. This trend has had an impact on Japan, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
publishing an Action Plan on Business and Human Rights last October, and the Ministry of Economy, Tradeand Industry (METI) announcing the Draft Guidelines for Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply
Chains in August this year. Going forward, it is expected to ensure consistency in policy among relevantJapanese ministries and agencies, while encouraging companies to promote respect for human rights. This is theWorld Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), a new ranking that assesses the contribution of global companies to theachievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While many companies are looking at longterm visions and trends, implementing SDGs and ESG-related activities and disclosing appropriate informationin order to increase their corporate intangible asset value, there are still a number of companies that are notmeeting the expectations and demands of society and ESG investors regarding business and human rights.
However, there are a number of companies that are not meeting the expectations and demands of society and
ESG investors in relation to Business and Human Rights. In this conference, overseas experts on business andhuman rights were invited to discuss global trends and pressing issues in business and human rights, and how
Japanese companies can prevent and address human rights violations, while introducing case studies ofcompanies that have implemented such measures.

In the first half of the plenary session, the domestic and foreign experts introduced global trends related tobusiness and human rights (trends related to business and human rights in Asia, migrant workers, key issues inthe supply chain, human rights information sharing platform, corporate valuation trends in WBA/CHRB, usefultools for human rights due diligence). In the latter half of the session, cases of business and human rights
initiatives by Japanese companies and organizations were presented. The importance of stakeholder engagement
was also discussed in a dialogue format. At the end of the plenary session, a discussion was held with overseas
experts to exchange views on important points in addressing business and human rights. Prior to the conference,the sponsoring companies had an exclusive dialogue with overseas human rights experts from the leading
initiatives in this field. They introduced their human rights efforts and exchanged views with the experts on how
to enhance their management. The companies found the dialogue very useful for gaining new perspectives andimproving their human rights due diligence.

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Opening Remarks
The demand for respect for human rights by stakeholders from NGO groups and ESG-related investors has
become stronger, and corporate evaluation axes are requiring companies to take more in-depth approaches

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based on the UNGPs than ever before. Emphasizing that the business environment surrounding companies is
becoming more severe than ever, he stressed the importance of building an operational system for humanrights management and identifying rights-holders who are suffering from human rights violations in their own
companies and in their supply chains. As laws and regulations are rapidly progressing in Western countries, theimportant thing is to promote efforts in line with the Guiding Principles on International Business and Human
Rights. In light of the fact that regulations on business and human rights are also being strengthened and the
movement toward legislation is accelerating, he stressed the importance of direct communication (direct
dialogue) and engaging with stakeholders based on relationships of trust. Video letters from overseas experts at
the plenary session and human rights initiatives by Japanese companies incorporating third-party perspectives
were introduced, and all participants once again examined their human rights initiatives.

Introduction to Global Trends of Business and Human Rights
Trends in Business and Human Rights in Asia
Sean Christopher Lees / United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Bangkok Regional Hub
The last two years have been a very tumultuous period for international business, for international markets.
Really, in terms of our state of play, we have three things. We have a reassessment of globalization. We have a
new willingness to divest. Three, we have perhaps a tightening of regulatory environment which we are operating
at the international level and conducting international trade and international business. In addition to this, thisperiod, the last two years is also a period, in which we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the signing of the
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The UN Guiding Principles is the world's mostauthoritative normative framework defining responsible business today. Made up of 31 principles, the UN
Guiding Principles provide a roadmap for governments and business to assess unsustainable practices and toundertake performance. In the context of heightened geopolitical and economic tensions, the UN Guiding
Principles has become even more relevant than in years past.
Migrant Workers in Supply Chain: Solving the Challenges
Neill Wilkins/ Institute for Business and Human Rights
One very significant situation that's arisen over the last 2 years has been the military coup that's taken place in
Myanmar. It's important for companies to maintain compliance with sanctions. There are quite strict rules now
about what can be exported from Myanmar and companies need to be very careful that they don't do anythingthat might break the sanctions. Bribery and corruption are absolutely rampant, and companies and suppliers are
increasingly finding that they are expected to make payments to all sorts of individuals just to be able to function
normally. It is important that if you do close down your operations in Myanmar, that you consider all of these
implications and make sure that you respect human rights during that withdrawal process, how do you makesure that you protect affected workers, how do you make sure that you protect other stakeholders that might be
impacted by your withdrawal.

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Accessing Corporate Respect for Human Rights : A benchmarking Approach
Sofía del Valle and Talya Swissa / World Benchmarking Alliance
WBA is a global organization that develops free and publicly available benchmarks to measure and compare

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companies on the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, and the Paris Agreement. All WBA benchmarks
incorporate Core Social Indicators, which are aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights and focus on issues such as commitment to respect human rights at different stages; identification,assessment, and action on human rights risks and impacts; stakeholder Whereas the Core Social Indicator
assesses all companies on basic matters of respect for human rights, the CHRB is a more in-depth assessment ofhigh-risk sectors. Unlike in the past, the CHRB will be on a biennial cycle, assessing three sectors this year andthe remaining two in 2023. The benchmarks will be released this November. The three sectors are food andagriculture, ICT manufacturing, and automobile manufacturing, and we are considering presenting thebenchmarks at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva.
Recommendations to the Japanese Government from WBA
Namit Agarwal / World Benchmarking Alliance
WBA has published an assessment of the world's most influential 1,000 companies on what we call the coresocial indicators, which are the social fundamentals based on human rights, decent work, and ethical action.
These indicators include elements on human rights due diligence, and out of the 1,000 companies we assessed,
67 are headquartered in Japan. We used evidence from the assessment of these 67 Japanese companies in therecommendations that we submitted. One of the things we found in our assessment was that Japanese companies
are committed to human rights but there is definitely room for improvement on due diligence indicators. We
found there is a clear gap between what companies are committing and what information they disclose on theimplementation. We sincerely hope that soon the government is going to start working on the implementation as
well as taking the guidance to a mandatory legislation.
European Policy Developments on Human Rights Due Diligence
Cathrine Bloch Veiberg / Jumpei Nagaoka / The Danish Institute for Human Rights
Most noticeably trends are the forced labor ban on goods imported to the EU that have been produced using
forced labor, and the corporate sustainable due diligence directive, which is currently still being processed within
the EU which will require the largest European companies to conduct due diligence on sustainability, including
human rights. There will also be, as a part of that file, a requirement on companies from outside of the EU, withsignificant operations in the EU, coming from high-risk sectors as defined by the OECD. This will cover not
only EU companies but with significant operations within the EU, from the sectors: the textile sector, agricultural
sector, and extraction of minerals sector. All of these different initiatives introduce different regulatory levers.
Some include obligations on companies to conduct human rights due diligence in alignment with the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights, so that includes a process to identify, assess, address, communicate,and report on human rights impacts, including in close collaboration with stakeholders. There are different
proposals around looking at the way in which companies are formed and governed and the way in which respectfor human rights can be more centrally integrated into their structure.

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4Introduction to Human Rights Risk Assessment Tool
Sofia Nazalya / Verisk Maplecroft
Verisk Maplecroft was founded in 2001 as a specialized risk advisory firm. The firm has 20 years of experience

Caux Round Tableworking with investors, financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate clients. We also provide
commodity data that allows us to look more closely at the human rights and ESG impacts of key products
upstream in the supply chain. Our Human Rights Risk Index includes issues such as child labor, modern slavery,
fair wages, and fair working hours for labor rights, and civil and political rights, including freedom of assembly,
freedom of opinion and expression, and the rights of women and girls. These human rights data form the basis
for operationalizing and improving human rights management, assessing human rights risks and impacts, andfulfilling reporting and disclosure obligations. In accordance with the UN Guiding Principles, our organizationassesses potential human rights impacts and provides steps leading to an assessment of actual human rights
impacts.
Human Rights Due Diligence in Supply Chain
Rishi Sher Singh/ Supply Chain Sustainability Expert/ CRT Japan Advisor
In a logistics project in India that I was involved in, I engaged in direct dialogue with the rights holders. Direct
dialogue with drivers, workers, coordinators, and security guards allowed me to understand many of the
problems they were facing on the ground, and they were surprised that anyone was interested in their problems.
Through the dialogue, we were able to identify salient human rights risks related to health and safety, unsafe
working conditions, road conditions, COVID impacts, lack of facilities for rest and sanitation, alcoholism, lackof PPE, etc. Through this project, we learned that direct engagement with rights-holders throughout the value
chain is possible. Direct engagement requires localized solutions. That means finding localized solutions. To
engage directly with rights holders, it is essential to have a local bridge and a local team to build trust with rights
holders who know the local language and culture.
Development of Implementation of Grievance Mechanism
Archana Kotecha / The Remedy ProjectWith the publication of the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, there has been renewed
attention to human rights due diligence mechanisms. At the same time, attention has also focused on remedies
and grievance systems, the two of which are truly inextricably linked. Many of these laws translate elements ofthe standards and principles of the UN Guiding Principles and will undoubtedly have an impact on the supply
chains of Asia-based companies. In particular, the more regulated the buyer's market becomes, the more Asiancompanies will be expected to raise their standards, both in terms of risk identification and risk management. As
companies design their grievance mechanisms, it is critical that they keep in mind the centrality of rights holders
and the need for ongoing dialogue and engagement in the workplace. In particular, it is important to emphasize
the role of civil society, which plays a very important role in the diffusion and penetration of grievancemechanisms to socially vulnerable individuals and groups.

Introduction of Japanese Companies' Approaches to Direct Communication
Conducting a Risk Assessment of Human Rights Due Diligence
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Yuko Tsutsui, Executive Officer, ESG Management Promotion Group, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha,Ltd.
In April 2022, we launched the "Human Rights Project" with the ESG Management Promotion Group as the lead

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department in order to have the entire NYK Group take human rights issues more seriously and strengthen its
efforts. In the risk assessment of human rights due diligence, human rights risk analysis was conducted using
objective data such as human rights risk analysis related to our business by Verisk Maplecroft and reports fromthe Danish Institute for Human Rights. Prioritization of issues was conducted through holding human rights due
diligence workshops with relevant departments within the company and through discussions on human rights
themes, countries, and target stakeholders. Based on the results of the workshop on business and human rights
and the human rights risk assessment, key human rights themes for the NYK Group were identified. In addition,
online interviews were conducted with Group company management who supervise and monitor the dismantlingprocess at the dismantling yards and with the dismantling yard site supervisors in India to ascertain the actual
working environment at the dismantling yards and to confirm the content of efforts to respect workers' humanrights.
In addition, Ishida, a member of CRT Japan, gave a presentation on the above-mentioned initiatives andexchanged opinions at a seminar for executives to encourage management to make a commitment to theinitiatives, thereby laying the foundation for a management system with an external perspective based on the
Guiding Principles for the entire NYK Group.
Respect for Human Rights at Kao
Manabu Shibata, Director, ESG Global Action Promotion, Kao Corporation
To review the Kao Group's human rights risks, a desktop survey and an internal workshop were conducted by athird-party organization. As a result, the working environment of foreign workers (in Japan) in Kao Group
companies and supply chains, as well as producers and farmers from whom raw materials are procured, wereidentified as important human rights themes that the Kao Group should address in the future. Based on theseresults, interviews were conducted with foreign workers in order to understand the actual working conditions offoreign workers working in Kao plant. As a result of the interviews, it was found that the relationship between
the company and the workers was good, no problems were found at this point, and psychological safety was
ensured. As a result of this interview, it was confirmed that the human rights-related activities conducted by the
Kao Group to date have not been particularly uncomfortable when organized from the perspective of the United
Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This initiative is positioned as the first step towardbuilding a management system with an external perspective based on guiding principles, and we hope to expand
it to vulnerable workers at upstream suppliers in the future.
Kao's Commitment to Sustainable Palm Oil
Manabu Shibata, Director, ESG Global Action Promotion, Kao Corporation
The Kao Group's Smallholder Farmer Support Project (SMILE) in Indonesia aims to build win-win relationships
between companies, suppliers, and farmers by helping to resolve issues on the ground, rather than eliminating
risks in the supply chain. In addition, the purpose of the Kao Group's adoption of the grievance mechanism is tosupport the protection of farmers' human rights and improvement of their livelihoods in conjunction with theCaux Round Table Japan
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resolve the issues, follow up promptly, and publicize the status of the response With the cooperation of the CRT

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Japan Committee, we will visit the area starting in 2019 to We have held numerous dialogues with small-scale
palm oil farmers in Indonesia in cooperation with supplier companies; since 2021, we have been conducting
questionnaires through direct dialogue with small-scale palm farmers in cooperation with the CRT Japan
Committee and local NGOs. And in 2022, a technology that allows farmers to directly input information fromtheir smartphones was introduced (NINJA, a CRT Japan), and a grievance mechanism was first established for
50 farmers to ensure accessibility and transparency of information. This also made it possible for farmers to
directly inquire about the progress of the response (realization of Direct Communication). The progress
management is scheduled to be published on the Kao website twice a year.
Conducting a Risk Assessment of Human Rights Due Diligence
Chikako Miyata, Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Sustainability, ANA HOLDINGS INC.
In order to assess potential human rights risks, the ANA Group utilized a system to regularly survey theemployment status of foreign workers in its supply chain. Information was collected through the "Ninja"
complaints desk to analyze potential risks. Then, regular on-site surveys, questionnaires, and interviews withforeign workers have been conducted; a complaint window has been set up with the cooperation of the CRT
Japan. The use of this service is encouraged for workers in group companies and major contractors. This window
is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, in seven languages, and callers can use it
anonymously without fear of repercussions. Today's presentation focuses on this grievance mechanism. In
January of this year, we received a request (anonymous submission) to conduct a human rights survey oftechnical intern trainees at an ANA Group partner company (consignee: Narita region). We immediately
proceeded with the survey, narrowed down the target areas, and asked the CRT Japan as a third-party
organization to conduct direct dialogue with technical intern trainees (33 persons) in April and May. In addition,in conducting the interview survey, we requested an interpreter to be in charge of the National Association of
Small and Medium Enterprises and Business Associations (supervisory organization). As a result, it was agreed
that more opportunities for dialogue with the technical intern trainees would be provided and that explanationsof work-related regulations and rules would be strengthened. In addition, the dormitory living environment, ofwhich the technical intern trainees had voiced some dissatisfaction, was promptly improved. Then, in early
October, the CRT Japan interviewed 10 technical intern trainees again to confirm whether their workplace andliving environment had improved (monitoring survey). As a result, we received a report that there had been asignificant improvement. Following this series of processes, we will continue to monitor the progress of efforts
in cooperation with various partner companies to implement procedures for resolving human rights issues,
including relief mechanisms and human rights due diligence processes.
Conducting a Risk Assessment of Human Rights Due Diligence
Masaki Shikano, Director, ZENKOKU KEIYUKAI COOPERATIVE
We manage technical intern trainees who are engaged in airport-related work at Narita, Haneda, and Kansai
airports. To date, we have received approximately 600 technical intern trainees. Together with ANA, we
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conducted interviews with the technical intern trainees to identify and address any concerns. Through theseinterviews, we found that the percentage of technical intern trainees wishing to extend their contracts was 60%
before the interviews, but after the interviews following this series of actions, the percentage improved to 95%.

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This is probably due in large part to the fact that ANA and the CRT Japan Committee conducted the interviews
and resolved the issues. In addition to these efforts, we also provided support for the technical intern trainees intheir personal lives, including monthly social gatherings, and we feel that this has borne fruit. We realized thatthese efforts not only had a significant positive impact on the technical intern trainees, but also raised the
motivation of the entire company. Although the technical intern trainee system is not highly regarded in Japanand abroad, I hope that everyone understands that many management organizations put the technical interntrainees first and are making various efforts in the field.
Video Letter from Rights Holders Screened
A video letter containing comments from rights holders on their satisfaction with the resolution of human rights
issues (living and working environment) identified in the results of the impact evaluation of technical interntrainees conducted in the Narita region this year was shown.
CRT Japan, Ishida
Based on the above series of procedures from the request for investigation through this anonymous posting, thismatter will be closed, but the management system mechanism will continue to be in place to appropriately
address any new issues that are found through direct dialogue with rights holders.

Discussion and Summary with Overseas Experts and Participants
In order to promote human rights initiatives within the company, it is important to first accumulate know-how
by creating small successful cases, and then horizontally disseminate this know-how among related divisions.
Then, it is necessary to devise ways to link the evaluations of third parties, such as WBA, Verisk Maplecroft,and ESG evaluation organizations, to improvements in the workplace. Some of the concerns collected throughthe grievance mechanism can be addressed by a single company alone, but in some cases they can be rectified
in cooperation with the government or competitors. In addition, when conducting interviews with employees ofoutsourcing partners, there is a tendency for the outsourcing partner to become defensive. However, it isimportant to explain to the outsources that identifying concerns and making improvements through repeatedinterviews will result in visible improvements in employee satisfaction and other tangible results, and to makeevery effort to gain their understanding and cooperation. Rather than proving that there are no human rights
issues in the supply chain, issues that were not previously apparent may suddenly appear through interviews. It
is most important to have a continuous dialogue with the counterparty and to build a relationship of mutual trust.

Comments on the Global Conference from Overseas Experts
The Global Conference is where we can learn about corporate initiatives and realize that companies are making
steady progress. It is much appreciated if CRT Japan could continue to hold the Global Conference wherecompanies and stakeholders can get together even during the pandemic. We genuinely hope to come to Japannext year and meet you in person.
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