Business and Human Rights

The area of business and human rights has rapidly grown in importance along with increasing interest in ESG investment and international human rights issues. Our firm has long been active in this area and offers leading-edge expertise to deal with these issues.

The area of business and human rights has rapidly grown in importance. After the United Nations passed a resolution adopting the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011, the development of legislation on business and human rights has rapidly progressed, especially in Europe and North America, and it is expected that these initiatives will lead to more stringent legislation in the coming years. In addition, along with increasing interest in ESG investment and international human rights issues, corporate responses to human rights issues have been exposed to more intense public scrutiny. For example, human rights issues involving Hong Kong, the Uyghurs, and Myanmar have resulted in an increasing number of confrontations, including the imposition of economic sanctions and other actions that have had an impact on international commerce.

Our firm was among the first to work in the area of business and human rights in Japan and has contributed to the development of legal practice in this area in Japan. As a result, we have abundant experience and expertise in the formulation of approaches and policies for advancing human rights, including due diligence measures; handling of human rights issues in supply chains; and laws, regulations, and economic sanctions related to human rights both in Japan and overseas. In addition, we are also experienced in handling incidents where human rights issues have been discovered by clients, providing comprehensive support throughout the whole process of dealing with such incidents, while appropriately ascertaining and analyzing human rights issues and working to achieve improvements related to those issues as promptly as possible. Our firm also assists corporations in subsequent human rights initiatives on an ongoing basis.

Business and Human Rights:People

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Business and Human Rights:News

Awards
Top rankings received in The Nikkei's "Corporate Legal Tax Affairs and Lawyer Survey 2023"

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Business and Human Rights:Seminars

Jun. 9, 2023External Seminars
"Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence in Asia: Principles and practices in Action"
Oct. 12, 2022MHM Open Seminars
”Emerging Global Business and Human Rights Trends -including practical issues of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act”

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Business and Human Rights:Publications

Magazine Article
"Recent Trends in "Business and Human Rights" - with an Explanation of Materials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry"
Magazine Article
"Insight into Financial and Business Matters: Human Rights Initiatives Spreading from Upstream to Downstream in Supply Chains"
Magazine Transcript
"Crucial points of legal handling of Human Rights Due Diligence"
Magazine Article
"Outline of the "Reference Material on Practical Approaches for Business Enterprises to Respect Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains""
Magazine Article
"Outline of "Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains""

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