13th October 2015

Report of 2015 Business and Human Rights Conference in Tokyo
On 16th and 17th September 2015, “2015 Business and Human Rights Conference in Tokyo” convened,co-hosted by Caux Round Table Japan (CRT-Japan), Vice Chair of United Nations Working Group on the issue ofhuman rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, Institute for Human Rights andBusiness, and Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. This conference aimed at (1) enhancing awarenessand understanding on the latest trends of business and human rights, (2) learning emerging good practices toadvance a respect of human rights, (3) facilitating the implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles.
It invited global human rights experts and discussed with the participants animatedly human rights issues thatemerged as of paramount important from the Stakeholder Engagement Program organized by CRT-Japan this year,
including Empowerment of Women, Food Issues, Labor Issues, and Sexual Minority. In addition, the conference
addressed the themes of Supply Chain, Corporate Governance, Grievance Mechanisms, and Mega-Sporting
Events. Approximately the 200 participants attended the conference in 2 days. Prior to the conference, the 7
individual dialogues were conducted between global initiative organizations and sponsoring companies/relatedorganization.
Host・Caux Round Table Japan・Vice Chair of United Nations Working Group on theissue of human rights and transnational corporations
and other business enterpriser
・Institute for Human Rights and Business・Business & Human Rights Resource Centre(The picture with sponsoring companies and speakers)

Sponsors/Cooperation
ASICS Corporation, NIPPON EXPRESS CO., LTD., Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK LINE),
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, ltd., Cotyledon Technology Co.,Ltd., FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation

Global Initiative Organizations
・Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB)・Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC)
・German Institute for Human Rights (GIMR)
・The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR)
・International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)
・SedexSupporting companies/organizations
Research Center for Sustainable Peace, Institute for Advanced Global Studies, The University of Tokyo,
Social Design Lab., Rikkyo University, SBI University, E-Square Inc., TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD.,
Sustainability Communication Hub Co., Ltd., CSO Network Japan, Cetus & General Press Inc.,
Brain Center Inc

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Day I: 16th
In opening remarks, Dr. Puvan J Selvanathan,a Vice Chair of UN Working Group onHuman Rights and Transnational
Corporations and other business, sent hisvideo message, expressing his expectationthat this conference would help to build trust
between different stakeholders which is(Opening Remarks by Dr. Puvan)(Opening Remarks by Mr. Ishida)absolutely necessary to progress on the agenda for Business and Human Rights, and would facilitate theimplementation of the Guiding Principles into business practices. Mr. Hiroshi Ishida, Executive Director ofCRT-Japan, emphasized the importance of taking an initiative proactively in line with the three principles of“Fairness”, “Integrity” and “Honesty”. Also, he expressed his expectation that discussions in this 2-day
conference would be advanced and meaningful with respect for each other and spirits of “what is right rather than
who is right”.

On Day I, the morning session examined the theme of “Introduction
to Global Trends of Business and Human Rights”. Under this theme,
IHRB, BHRRC, DIMR, DIHR, ICAR and Sedex provided leadership
perspectives on the agenda for business and human rights, andcurrent global trends. The addressed issues were as followed: “Top 10Business and Human Rights Issues 2016” initiated by IHRB, humanrights issues in Mega-Sporting Events, development of “NationalAction Plan”, the business contribution to sustainable development（6 organizations from overseas were invited）

post-2015, state implementation of the UNGPs in Germany, humanrights issues in Japan, and social and environmental issues in supply
chains in Asia. Many participants offered their opinions regarding
this session that they could gain their understanding on current trendsof business and human rights and contents of on-going activities ofglobal initiative organizations. Also, they felt the need for bringing
these business and human rights perspectives into daily business
operations to advance a respect of business and human rights within(Discussions were lively and interactive)

and outside their companies.

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The afternoon session addressed the human rights issues thatemerged as of paramount important from the Stakeholder
Engagement Program organized by CRT-Japan this year,including Empowerment of Women, Labor Issues, Food Issues
and Sexual Minority. Japanese NGOs (Gender Action Platform,
Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan, Japan Farmers GAP
Association, and NijiiroDiversity) gave presentations on theseagendas respectively, while NYK LINE presented their activities(Discussion between companies and NGOs)on empowerment of women. After the presentations, the foreign speakers, the Japanese speakers and thecompanies that participated in the Stakeholder Engagement Program this year conducted a panel discussion on
challenges and ways of addressing these raised issues. Through this, it became clear that companies should
conduct a dialogue with integrity with human rights victims and NGOs supporting them, and implement their
human rights due diligence processes. By taking this legitimate approach, companies can gain trust from differentstakeholders.

Mr. Hideki Tomita from Nestlé Japan Ltd. presented cases showing how

Nestlé strived to create shared values for the company (shareholders)and societies by solving social issues globally. In addition, he sharedthat Nestlé Japan has evaluated their own unique material issues forthe first time in 2015 while taking into account issues that arecharacteristic of Japan, and will work on each issue to create shared(Mr. Tomita from Nestlé Japan Ltd)values at a local level.

Next, Ms. Miho Okada from CRT-Japan, introduced “Sustainable Navigation” developed by CRT-Japan. It is acomprehensive framework of CSR activities, assisting companies to develop their CSR activities in a more
effective and efficient way. She stressed that CRT-Japan would continue to provide a series of services
corresponding to steps illustrated in the framework, including dialogue with stakeholders, identifying material
issues, reviewing current CSR activities, and developing a more effective approach.

,In the end of the first day of the conference, Mr. Hiroshi Ishidafrom CRT-Japan delivered his closing remarks, saying that it
became very important for companies to implement the UN
Guiding Principles into their businesses in collaboration with
their stakeholders, in order to conduct business smoothly on theglobal stage.
（The photo with speakers of the first day）

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Day II:17thDay II focused on the 4 themes that Japan should address.
Theme 1 put focus on introduction to Sedex that offers the common
platform for sharing ethical supply chain data, and introduction tobusiness cases of Japanese members of Sedex. First, Mr. Allan
Lerberg Jørgensen from Denmark Institute for Human Rights shared
his expertise on how companies should address human rights
globally when the rules of the game are changing. Mr. Dan Murrayfrom Sedex introduced the common platform that Sedex provides forMr. Murray from Sedex

sharing ethical supply chain data as a means to improve data and cost management. Mr. Takashi Matsuse fromKao Corporation presented Kao`s activities for sustainable procurement. He shared an overview of Kao HumanRights Policy and Kao`s plan to utilize Sedex for human rights due diligence processes. Lastly, Mr. Yosuke
Umegane from Japan Airlines Co.,Ltd. highlighted that JAL Group will enhance its risk management by utilizing
Sedex with a perspective of CSR, and facilitate its responsible procuring practices further.

In Theme 2, Unilever Japan Holdings K.K. gave a presentation on
corporate governance and business and human rights. In addition,
IHRB conducted a workshop on “Corporate Human Rights
Benchmark” (CHRB). Mr. Takayuki Kitajima from Unilever JapanHoldings K.K. presented how Unilever addresses salient humanrights issues for their business with a different set of policies andactivities, and emphasized the importance of building and sustaining
a strong culture of integrity and compliance within the company.
(Mr. Kitajima from Unilever Japan.)

After his presentation, Ms. Motoko Aizawa from IHRB presented anoverview and content of CHRB. Objectives of CHRB are making
corporate human rights performance easier to see and simpler tounderstand for a wide range of audience, and creating a positivecompetitive environment, encouraging companies to race to the topof the annual ranking by commending and rewarding companies
doing well while pointing the way forward to better performance.
The participants conducted a group discussion on this framework.

(Ms. Aizawa from IHRB)

The discussion went lively and interactive among the speaker andthe participants, indicating a high interest in this initiative. Later, CRT-Japan collected and summarized theircomments, and submitted them to the IHRB office.

4In Theme 3, presentations and discussions on grievance mechanisms wereconducted. At first, Ms. Lillian Tseng from ASICS Corporation gave thepresentation on “Partnership with ILO – The Better Work Programme-”. She
explained why ASICS joined the Better Work Programme and how ASICS
supports suppliers making long-term changes. Secondly, Mr. Christopher
Schuller from GIMR noted the 4 types of grievance mechanisms andemphasized that companies need to create a fair and effective grievancemechanism. Mr. Saul Takahashi from BHRRC shared that it is essential toconduct a continuous engagement with local stakeholders in order to gain asocial license. Lastly, Ms. Miho Okada from CRT-Japan introduced an overview,（Mr. Takahashi from BHRRC）

framework and process of the grievance mechanism which CRT-Japan is working on.

Theme 4 focused on “Mega-Sporting Events and Business and Human Rights”,and presentations and discussions were conducted. Ms. Lucy Amis from IHRB
highlighted the risks factors across Mega-Sporting Events life-cycle (planning &land development, infrastructure and construction, procurement of goods andservice, and event-time) and reviewed good emerging practices in the past events.
In addition, she touched the recent collaborative works with CRT-Japan to facilitate
human rights in the forthcoming the 2020 Tokyo Games. Mr. Tamari Toshikazu
from Japan Football Association introduced some activities relating toanti-corruption, education for next-generation, and leadership in line with the UN(Ms. Amis from IHRB)

Global Compact. After the presentations, Mr. Hisahiro Sugiura from the Tokyo

Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) and Mr. George Yoshimoto from ASICS
Corporation joined a panel discussion. Mr. Sugiura noted that it is important to recognize human rights issues
arising from global procuring activities and create a system to handle complaints. Mr. Yoshimoto shared that
ASICS Corporation has advanced in promotion of human rights led by top-management since NGOs pointed out
abuses of human rights in factories related to ASICS Corporation in the 2004 Athens Olympics Games.

Lastly, Dr. Yasunobu Sata from The University of Tokyo gave the closing remarks atthe conference. He noted the necessity of businesses in contributing topeace-building in the situation that protecting human rights by states becomes moredifficult. He also suggested adding an element of peace building in the UN Global
Compact, and emphasized that in order to practice business and human rights,
companies should recognize “Corporate Peace Responsibility” and facilitate Human
Security in collaboration with stakeholders.
Closing remarks by Mr. Sato5

List of foreign and domestic speakersPuvan J Selvanathan Vice-Chair,UN Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Businesses, Geneva

Motoko Aizawa, Managing Director and Chair of IHRB US Board, Institute for Human Rights and Business

Lucy Amis, Research Fellow (Mega Sporting Events), Institute for Human Rights and Business

Saul Takahashi, Japan, Korea & Pacific Islands researcher & Representative,
Business & Human Rights Resource CentreChristopher Schuller, Legal Adviser, Business and Human Rights of the German Institute for Human Rights,
German Institute for Human Rights

Amol Mehra, Esq., Director, International Corporate Accountability Roundtable

Dan Murray, Head of Membership Development & Marketing, Sedex

Allan Lerberg Jørgensen, Department Director of Human Rights and Development,The Danish Institute for Human Rights

Mariko Saito, Programme Specialist, Gender Action PlatformYuko Tsutsui, Deputy General Manager, Human Resources Group, NYK Line

Ippei Torii, President, Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan

Ryuichi Tagami, President, Japan Farmers GAP Association

Maki Muraki, Founder, Main Representative, NPO NijiiroDiversity

Hideki Tomita, Manager, Marketing & Communications Division Corporate Affairs Group Stakeholder Relations
Section, Nestlé Japan Ltd.

Takashi Matsuse, Vice President, Procurement – Planning, Global, Vice President SCM Strategy andPlanning – Procurement, Global Kao CorporationYosuke Umegane, Senior Director, Planning Group, Purchasing, Japan Airlines Co.,Ltd.

Takayuki Kitajima, Representative Director, General Counsel North East Asia Legal Group, Unilever Japan
Holdings K.K.

Lillian Tseng, Manager of the Supply Chain, CSR Team, CSR Sustainability Department, Global Legal &Compliance Div., ASICS Corporation



George Yoshimoto, General Manager, CSR Sustainability Department Manager, ASICS CorporationHisahiro Sugiura, Executive Director of Games Operations, The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympicand Paralympic Games

Tamari Toshikazu, Deputy Director, Administration Department Personnel Affairs Group, Japan Football Group

Yasunobu Sato, Ph.D, Professor (Attorney-at-law), Director of Research Center for Sustainable Peace, Institutefor Advanced Global Studies, Graduate Program on Human Security, Graduate School of Arts & Science, TheUniversity of Tokyo

Hiroshi Ishida, Executive Director, Caux Round Table Japan

Miho Okada, Director, Caux Round Table JapanEnd6