Professor Emi Sugawara leads a research project on business and human rights from the perspective of the parties concerned for improved policies
In Japan, business and human rights is preceded by the movement of practitioners, while the research from an academic point of view is yet to come. On the other hand, there is a great deal of research on the perspectives of the stakeholders such as children, women, persons with disabilities, foreigners (immigrants, refugees) and LGBT rights. By partnering with frontline researchers who have studied international human rights from the perspective of the parties concerned, a four-year research project led by Prof. Emi Sugawara at Osaka University of Economics and Law wanted to bridge the perspective of business and human rights and research of international human rights from the perspective of stakeholders. More specifically, the project is hoping to provide clarity and effectiveness of international human rights as norms of conduct for companies, based on the implementation of business and human rights in local and national government, the private sector and wider society. The reality is that Japanese society – and the business world in particular – has some knowledge gaps regarding business and human rights, so the project wants to take the understanding of the international community and use it to influence Japanese policy.
One of studies is “Policy recommendations for Japan towards achieving the labour dimension of corporate social responsibility: Japan’s national policy concerning business and human rights”, which has been co-conducted by Prof. Sugawara and Ryusuke Tanaka, ILO Office for Japan. The report analyses and make recommendations on national policies on the labour dimension of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and responsible business conduct (RBC). The analysis examines the norms developed in the context of international instruments, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the dynamism of normative development led by diverse actors’ implementation of those norms. Analysis and comparison of the international instruments, the diverse and multilayered stakeholder endeavours and the Japanese Government’s current policies demonstrate that there is substantial room for the evolution of Japan’s labour CSR and RBC policies.
State labour CSR and RBC policies have been implemented with multiple policy intentions, but it is an essential precondition that they contribute to the protection of workers’ rights, including the realization of decent work in global supply chains. Recent trends in the area of business and human rights have tended to focus on country-specific or individual and occasional issues and phenomena in a few countries and regions. These individual issues and phenomena are, however, only the tip of the iceberg, and the problem lies in the deep-rooted labour issues that exist globally. For example, about one in 160 people in the world today is a victim of modern slavery, which underscores the scarcity in targeting in specific countries or regions. There is an urgent need to set a vision for labour CSR and RBC policies, for how individual policies can be linked with global economic and social progress and for how Japanese enterprises can operate a sustainable business globally. To that end, the Government could make use of the forms of international cooperation that Japan has developed over the years, while focusing on ensuring workers’ rights and sustainability in the global economy and society. In other words, put in place a vision of coprosperity with partner countries that is incorporated in the core of the labour CSR and RBC policies and sustained by dialogue, cooperation and engagement among the Government, enterprises and workers, with each on an equal footing.
