Advancing human rights due diligence in Japan

Dialogue and recommendations for Japan’s upcoming National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP)

Context

As multinational corporations expand their global reach, the need for robust, mandatory human rights due diligence legislation becomes increasingly urgent. Japan, home to some of the world’s largest and most influential companies, holds a significant role in this landscape. Building on Japan’s first National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP) and the 2022 Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains, the revised NAP (2.0) comes at a pivotal moment, as global expectations for responsible business conduct continue to rise.

In August 2025, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) developed a policy note with recommendations for Japan’s revised NAP, offering targeted proposals to strengthen the NAP and support stronger corporate alignment with international human rights standards.  The note combines WBA’s Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) data, which provides a comparative evidence base on how Japanese companies perform against global peers, with BHRRC case studies that how companies respond to human rights allegations in practice. Together, these quantitative and qualitative insights evaluate Japan’s progress since NAP 1.0, identifies persistent gaps in human rights due diligence (HRDD), and highlights the need for clearer policy direction.

In this context, WBA, BHRRC and Human Rights Now (HRN) will host a webinar and multi-stakeholder panel, aiming to:

• Present key data and insights from the recently published policy note.
• Feed into the ongoing revision of NAP with concrete evidence and multi-stakeholder perspectives, ensuring recommendations inform and strengthen the process.
• Raise awareness and understanding of the gaps, challenges and opportunities regarding the advancement of responsible business conduct in Japan.
• Foster dialogue across different stakeholder groups – business, financial institutions, and civil society – and identify key opportunities, learnings, and examples of good practice that can support further progress on business and human rights in the country.

[Date] Friday, October 10, 2025, 18:00 – 19:10 (JST)

[Place] Online via Zoom

[Language] Japanese/English (simultaneous interpretation will be provided)

[Fee] Free

[Registration] https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eMBk_96mTnm_mKJTfVQDTQ

[Agenda]

★Those who wish to join as a media:

Please contact us at with the following information: (1) Your organization, (2) Your name, and (3) The media you would like to use to cover the webinar at info_bhr@hrn.or.jp with the subject line “251010 Webinar Coverage Request” in advance.

＊Notice for the participants:
・The organizer reserves the right to refuse participation in the webinar if it is deemed that there is a risk of disrupting the progress of the webinar, or that the webinar will hurt or slander the feelings of the participants.
・Recording, videotaping, taking screenshots, and broadcasting of the event are prohibited.

For inquiries, please contact info_bhr@hrn.or.jp

Kassidy Huang

Kassidy Huang works at the intersection of research and public policy to advocate for sustainable policy frameworks aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. She contributes to the development of benchmarks on corporate responsibility, including the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB), and leverages this work to inform emerging sustainability and policy frameworks. With extensive expertise in research and policy analysis, she translates data into actionable insights for investors, policymakers, and stakeholders. Kassidy holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Oxford.

小園杏珠 (Anju Kozono)

Anju joined the Resource Centre in July 2023. She is responsible for research and outreach in Japan. Previously, she was a project coordinator of Human Rights Now (HRN), an international human rights organisation based in Japan, promoting responsible businesses in accordance with the UNGPs with CSOs, governments, multinational corporations and so on. Anju holds an LL.M in International Human Rights and Economic Law from the University of Essex (the United Kingdom) .

河合若葉 (Wakaba Kawai)

In the Responsible Investment Department of Nomura Asset Management, Ms. Wakaba Kawai is responsible for strengthening and promoting initiatives related to responsible investment and ESG. Her main responsibilities include the exercise of voting rights and engagement on foreign stocks, integration of ESG research and investment research, dissemination of information related to responsible investment, and external activities. She also actively participates in external ESG-related initiatives and collaborative engagements to build a network.
After working for a Japanese investment trust management company and a foreign asset management company managing Asian equities, she joined Nomura Asset Management in 2005. From July 2009 to March 2020, she was in charge of Asian equity management at the Singapore office. She has been assuming her current position since April 2020.

溝内　良輔 (Ryosuke Mizouchi)

Ryosuke Mizouchi is an Advisor at Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd. From 2017 to 2024, he served as the Chief Sustainability Officer of Kirin Group. He joined Kirin in 1982 and has experience in marketing insights and overseas businesses. He is currently also a member of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO. He holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management, MIT (1988), and a BA in Economics from Hitotsubashi University (1982).

小川隆太郎 (Ryutaro Ogawa)

Ryutaro is a lawyer specializing in labor disputes, administrative litigation cases, immigration, and refugee matters. Since 2022, he has been serving as the Secretary-General of the certified nonprofit organization, Human Rights Now (HRN). He is also a Deputy Secretary-General in charge of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in the International Human Rights Treaties Working Group under the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, a board member of The International Human Rights Law Association and a coordinator for the Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees, etc.