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| (From left to right) Ms. Horiuchi, Director, ILO Office in Japan; Mr. Kim, technical specialist of the ILO Multinational Enterprises Programme; Prof. Kuriyama of Soka University; Prof. Umeda of Reitaku University; Mr. Chiba of Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare; Ms. Sanui of Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren); Mr. Tatsui of Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO) |
The International Labour Organization Office in Japan held a forum on corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Elizabeth Rose Hall, United Nations University. An ILO specialist, scholars, representatives from the Government and social partners gave their presentation on CSR, which has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The forum was concluded with an interactive discussion between panelists and participants.
The forum was chaired by Ms. Mitsuko Horiuchi, the Director of the ILO Office in Japan, who introduced briefly the work of the ILO on CSR. Mr. Kee Beom Kim, Technical Specialist of the Multinational Enterprises Programme of the ILO presented the main results of his research on the CSR approaches of Japanese companies conducted in June 2004 in Japan. Having briefed historical aspects and recent tendencies of CSR in Japan and in the world, Mr. Kim introduced several favorable practices by Japanese enterprises. He pointed out that Japanese companies have achieved much on environmental issues, however; more efforts need to be made on social issues. Compared with companies in the U.S. and the U.K., Japanese firms' actions so far have been unbalanced.
Professor Naoki Kuriyama of Soka University mentioned "centrality" and "universality" of the ILO standards, which were expressed clearly in the Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998, referring to ILO's roles in the field of CSR. He then introduced recent private initiatives regarding CSR, by citing concrete examples of ISO, which recently has embarked on setting international standard on social responsibility. He also touched upon Social Responsibility Investment (SRI) as a pressure to promote CSR.
Professor Toru Umeda of Reitaku University, who is also Deputy Director of the Business Ethics and Compliance Research Center, gave a presentation on United Nations Global Compact and Japanese companies' response to this global initiative. In his report, he pointed out the significance that the UN has recognized importance of CSR, which may provide a basis for partnership among the UN, private sectors, and civil society organizations.
Mr. Toshio Chiba of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare explained background and the relevance for studying the implication of CSR on labor, and governmental roles basing a recently released interim report issued by a study group on CSR in labor issues (chaired by Professor Kanji Tanimoto of Hitotsubashi University).
Ms. Nobuko Sanui of Nippon Keidanren, the largest employers' organization, illustrated the efforts made by the organization in promoting CSR among its affiliate companies with references to the Keidanren's Charter of Corporate Behavior compiled by the organization, which was revised in May 2004.
The final speaker, Mr. Yoji Tatsui of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, showed unions' concerns over recent discussions on CSR. He raised several issues including companies' exclusion of atypical workers, dispatched workers, and foreign workers, whose numbers have been increasing.
Following the presentations by an ILO specialist, researchers, and representatives of the ILO constituencies (government, workers and employers), the floor was opened to public for Q&A and discussion. Questions raised include those regarding foreign cases, and Japanese companies' unbalanced approach to CSR. The forum had active discussions which help further promote CSR initiatives in Japan.
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