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Respect for Human Rights and Labor
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Respect for Human Rights and Labor

Initiatives relating to human rights

Formulation of a human rights policy

Considering the growing social demand for companies to respect human rights, Japan Post Group formulated the Japan Post Group Human Rights Policy in April 2019 based on the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other concepts.
Through this policy, we demonstrate our respect for human rights, and through building a framework for human rights due diligence and identifying negative impacts on human rights, we promote human rights awareness activities to foster a sense of human rights among all employees. We also support the UN Children's Rights and Business Principles and will promote the realization of children's rights. Human rights awareness activities will be reviewed periodically through deliberations by the Sustainability Committee, taking into account changes in corporate activities and the business environment.

The Group's structure for promoting human rights awareness

Dialogue with outside experts

We aim to examine initiatives carefully so that the whole company can understand the importance of sustainability management as viewed by senior management, while considering the importance of business and human rights, taking into account advice from experts, arranging a structure for promoting initiatives, and having a basic concept and policy.

Implementing human rights due diligence

The Japan Post Group undertakes the following human rights due diligence process in order to respect the human rights of persons who are impacted by its business activities.

*Note: In-house seminars on business and human rights are held for all employees of Japan Post Holdings, the Group's holding company, by inviting a lecturer from the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau.

Human Rights Impact Assessment

With one of the largest workforces in Japan, the Japan Post Group operates a variety of businesses, including postal services, logistics, banking, and insurance, through about 24,000 post offices nationwide. We identify priority issues by mapping the latent and overt human rights risks associated with our businesses.
In identifying priority issues, we draw on various guidelines and external literature reviews,*1 employee awareness questionnaire on business and human rights,*2 assessment surveys of major subsidiaries,*3 and the expertise of external consultants.

The priority issues to which the Group should pay particular attention are as follows.
Stakeholder Priority issue
Employee Insufficient or unpaid wages; living wage
Excessive or unreasonable working hours
Power harassment and sexual harassment
Occupational health and safety
Discrimination (including gender-related human rights issues)
Customer Privacy rights
Consumer safety and right to know
Supplier Forced labor
Child labor
Recipient of investment/financing Forced labor
Child labor
Rights of indigenous people and local residents

We will manage and review the human rights issues of particular concern to us through monitoring, etc. We will also work to mitigate risks related to human rights issues other than those listed above.

*1 Various guidelines and external literature reviews

  1. ■
    Referenced literature:
  2. ・
    "Report on the Research and Study on Business and Human Rights (March 2021)." The Ministry of Justice
  3. ・
    "Handbook for Management that Respects Human Rights (December 2021)." Keidanren
  4. ・
    "Human Rights Issues by Sector v.10 (March 2022)." Caux Round Table Japan (CRT Japan)
  5. ・
    "Human Rights Guidance Tool/Services (2014)." UNEP FI
  6. ・
    "10 Human Rights Priorities for the Financial Sector (2017)." BSR
  7. ・
    "10 Human Rights Priorities for the Transport and Logistics Sector (2017)." BSR
　
■Results of external literature reviews (human rights issue items by business area):
Human rights issues UNFPFI
(Services)		 BSR
(Finance)		 BSR
(Transport
and logistics)		 CRT
(Logistics
and transport)
(1) Insufficient or unpaid wages; living wage ✔ ✔ ✔
(2) Excessive or unreasonable working hours ✔ ✔ ✔
(3) Occupational safety and health ✔ ✔
(4) Right to social security
(5) Power harassment
(6) Sexual harassment
(7) Maternity/paternity harassment
(8) Nursing care harassment
(9) Forced labor ✔ ✔ ✔
(10) Freedom of change of residence
(11) Freedom of association ✔
(12) Rights of foreign workers ✔ ✔
(13) Child labor ✔ ✔
(14) Human rights issues related to technology and AI ✔ ✔
(15) Privacy rights ✔ ✔
(16) Consumer safety and right to know ✔ ✔
(17) Discrimination ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
(18) Gender-related human rights issues ✔ ✔ ✔
(19) Freedom of expression
(20) Rights of indigenous people and local residents ✔ ✔
(21) Human rights issues related to the environment and climate change ✔ ✔
(22) Intellectual property rights
(23) Bribery and corruption ✔ ✔ ✔
(24) Human rights issues in the supply chain ✔ ✔ ✔
(25) Right of access to redress ✔ ✔

*2 Employee awareness questionnaire on business and human rights (conducted in FY2022)

  1. ■
    Target company: Japan Post Holdings
  1. ■
    Question:
  2.   
    Choose the top three issues that are highly likely to become priority human rights issues in the business activities of the Japan Post Group.
  3.   
    (To be chosen from 25 human rights risks listed in the "Report on the Research and Study on Business and Human Rights (March 2021)" by the Ministry of Justice.)
  1. ■
    Number of respondents: 965 (Response rate: approx. 90%)

*3 Outline of assessment survey

  1. ■
    Target companies:
  2. ・
    Japan Post Holdings
  3. ・
    Japan Post Co., Ltd.
  4. ・
    Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd.
  5. ・
    Japan Post Insurance Co., Ltd.
  1. ■
    Survey method:
  2. I.
    Identify human rights issues expected in the Group's business areas from external literature, etc.
  3. II.
    For the identified human rights issues, conduct a survey of each company on the occurrence or non-occurrence of the issue and preventive/corrective actions using an interview sheet.
  4. III.
    Integrate the survey results for each company and identify the human rights issues to which the Group should pay particular attention.
(Reference) Interview sheet (excerpt)

Preventive and Corrective Actions

Preventive and Corrective Actions The following shows the implementation of preventive and corrective measures against the negative impact of apparent and latent risks relating to human rights. We will review and enhance activities according to the situation of the assessed impact on human rights.

Stakeholder Human rights issues Main examples of preventive and corrective actions
Education and training Internal environment and systems
Employee Insufficient or unpaid wages; living wage
  • New employee training, training upon promotion by job level
    We provide working hour management training to employees upon hire or promotion (by job level).
  • Ensuring appropriate working conditions
    We have established a salary system for employees above the minimum wage to comply with labor-related laws and regulations and to ensure stability of livelihood.
Excessive or unreasonable working hours
  • New employee training, training upon promotion by job level
    We provide working hour management training to employees upon hire or promotion (by job level).
  • Confirmation of understanding (twice a year)
    Employees conduct a self-diagnosis of their understanding of proper working hour management.
  • Initiatives to create friendly workplaces for employees
    We help balance work with childcare, nursing care, and illness, realize personnel systems that address environmental changes, reduce overtime, and promote telework.
Power harassment and sexual harassment
  • Harassment prevention training
    New employee training, training upon promotion by job level We provide human rights awareness and harassment prevention training to employees upon hire or promotion (by job level).
  • Initiatives to eradicate harassment
    We disseminate top management messages on harassment, educate and raise awareness of harassment among all employees, train managers using case studies, and distribute booklets.
    *Note: We ensure whistleblower protection, accept consultation requests through a "one-stop consultation and whistleblowing platform," and have established a structure in which a manager with sufficient investigative skills conducts investigations.
Occupational health and safety
  • Self-care/line-care training
    We work with occupational health staff to provide mental health training to all employees each year.
  • Education and training on transportation safety (an initiative of Japan Post Co., Ltd.)
  1. (1)
    Leadership training at the head office, branch offices, and post offices (only those with a postal operations organization)
  2. (2)
    Safety training for post office managers
  3. (3)
    Training of safe driving instructors for motorcycles and vans
  4. (4)
    Accident/violator training
  5. (5)
    Driving record certificates, aptitude tests, and education through attended/accompanied instruction
  6. (6)
    Team-based accident case study groups using accident information bulletins
  7. (7)
    New employee training and mid-career employee training
  8. (8)
    Safety considerations for elderly drivers
  9. (9)
    Education using data detected by drive recorders or telematics
  • Promotion of health management
    We have established the Japan Post Group Health Management Promotion System, formulated the Japan Post Group Declaration on Health, are reducing long working hours, providing health guidance to prevent and manage lifestyle-related diseases, and providing mental health care.
  • Occupational health and safety management system
    To prevent occupational accidents, prevent damage to employees' health, and create a comfortable workplace environment, we comply with occupational health and safety laws and other related laws and regulations, and implement initiatives to ensure employees' safety and to maintain and improve their health.
  • Payment of workers' compensation additional benefits
    We provide additional benefits when employees receive compensation under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act for injury, illness, disability or death resulting from an accident at work or while commuting.
  • Establishment of a consultation service for mental and physical health
    For counseling on life- and work-related concerns and anxieties, we have established a mental and physical counseling desk at health management facilities nationwide, a telephone counseling service at the Japan Post Mutual Aid Association, and a counseling service outsourced to an external specialist company.
Discrimination (including gender-related human rights issues)
  • Diversity reinforcement month (once a year)
    We designate a month each year to raise employee awareness of diversity-related systems and initiatives and to foster a workplace culture that facilitates the use of these systems.
  • Diversity-related seminars
    We hold a seminar several times a year to foster awareness of respect for diverse values and mutual recognition.
  • Promoting the active participation of women
    We have set a target for the percentage of female managers among head office managers, are reducing overtime, developing a system to help balance work and childcare, raising awareness through manager seminars to create a workplace culture where employees can play an active role regardless of gender, and providing training to promote career awareness among female employees.
  • Addressing sexual diversity
    We provide awareness-raising seminars conducted by LGBT persons, have established the Japan Post Group Human Rights Policy, issue ALLY stickers, sponsor Tokyo Rainbow Pride, and extend various benefits to same-sex partners (e.g., dependent allowance, special leave for employee weddings and funerals, caregiver leave).
  • Promoting the employment of persons with disabilities
    We proactively recruit persons with disabilities, establish and develop workplace environments aimed at job retention, establish and proactively utilize special subsidiary companies, and accept interns and employ persons from special needs schools.
Customer Privacy rights
  • Cybersecurity-related education and training
    We implement initiatives to raise cybersecurity awareness among executives and employees, such as conducting quarterly information security self-inspections.
  • Japan Post Group Information Security Declaration
    To help customers use our services with confidence, we protect and securely manage our customers' valuable information from leakage and loss due to unauthorized access, and from service disruptions caused by accidents and natural disasters.
Consumer safety and right to know
  • Employee training
    With the aim of realizing customer-oriented sales activities, we have developed a basic policy and annual plan for sales training and provide training to improve employees' knowledge and skills according to the employee's roles.
  • Establishment of the Japan Post Group Basic Policy for Customer-Oriented Business Operations
    In accordance with the Policy, we take customer feedback seriously and make efforts to become a corporate group that is truly trusted by customers.
  • Establishment of the Japan Post Group Customer Satisfaction Promotion Liaison Meeting
    At the Liaison Meeting, customer feedback directed to Group companies, their basic policies for customer-oriented business operations and their implementation status, best practices, current and future issues, and measures to address them are shared.
Supplier Forced labor
  • Establishment of "Japan Post Group's Approach to Procurement Activity"
    Since 2018, the Group has endorsed the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact in the four areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.
    With respect to the matters listed in the above policy, we have established the "Japan Post Group CSR Procurement Guidelines," which specify the initiatives required of our suppliers, and we promote procurement activities that take into account social responsibilities such as human rights, labor standards, and the environment throughout our supply chain.
Child labor
Recipient of investment/financing Forced labor Related disclosures
Child labor
Rights of indigenous people and local residents
Other
  • Prevention of child and forced labor
    We endorse the UN's Children's Rights and Business Principles and promote the realization of children's rights. We verify the age of our employees at the time of hiring and have established work regulations that guarantee the freedom of resignation.
    *Note: We hire employees on the basis of applications from job seekers, indicate working conditions in advance by issuing a notice of working conditions upon hire, and guarantee freedom of resignation to prevent forced labor against the employee's will by clearly stating in the work regulations that employees are considered to have resigned 14 days after submitting their resignation request.

Implementation of monitoring of initiatives

The following shows monitoring of the risks related to human rights. We will review monitoring items and methods according to the status shown by the assessment of the impact on human rights.

  • Employee and workplace environment surveys
    • Human rights and harassment check (twice a year)
    • Stress Checks at all business locations (once a year)
    • Improvements to workplace environment by inviting employees to give examples of near misses at business locations
    • Initiatives to correct excessive overtime
      Checking the number of hours of overtime at each department (monthly), monitoring of working hours and others on site (as necessary), managing working hours by checking IC cards (monthly)
    • Fatigue Checks, encouragement of meetings with industrial physician (for employees with 80 hours or more of overtime per month; monthly)
    • Mental disorder detection program (for employees working more than 80 hours of overtime per month and employees who have transferred from outside the company; monthly)
  • Exchanging opinions with the labor union
    • Holding a subcommittee meeting with the labor union to discuss work-life balance and other matters (once to twice a year)
    • Exchanging opinions with the branches of the labor union on such matters as actual overtime hours once every two months
    • Holding a subcommittee meeting with the labor union to discuss gender equality and other matters (once to twice a year).
  • Supply chain management
    • Conducting a survey on CSR procurement to suppliers (once a year)
      The Japan Post Group ensures procurement activities engaging in global environment and local community in cooperation with our suppliers based on the Japan Post Group's Approach to Procurement Activity. As in the previous year, we conducted a survey on CSR procurement to our suppliers in 2023 for the purpose of understanding efforts related to CSR of our suppliers and of striving to continuously  improve our efforts in whole our supply chain.
      ■Survey overview
      • Survey period:October 2023 to January 2024
      • Number of suppliers surveyed: 217
        (Breakdown)
        Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd.: 88
        Japan Post Co., Ltd.: 66
        Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd.: 50
        Japan Post Insurance Co., Ltd.: 13
      • *Note: Japan Post Insurance conducts its own supplier survey in addition to the Supplier CSR Questionnaire.
      ■Sharing of survey results and initiatives for improvement
      • Feedback of results
        The results of the Supplier CSR Questionnaire are shared with all suppliers who responded.
      • Implementation of monitoring (interviews)
        By March 2023, we monitored three companies concerning the results and specific initiatives. We were able to confirm that some action had been taken on some of the issues identified in the questionnaire. For issues that had not been addressed, we showed the companies best practices from other companies and asked them to make improvements. We plan to monitor nine companies by June 2024.
        If the survey results identify issues, we do not take immediate action, such as suspending or terminating business, but instead engage in interactive communication with suppliers in the belief that this will lead to improved CSR activities on both sides. Therefore, we plan to continue this initiative.

Information Disclosure

Remedial measures

As activities for raising human rights awareness and those for eradicating harassment, the Group tries to develop awareness through varied types of training and listens to employees in connection with compliance overall with a "one-stop consultation and internal platform" and other tools prepared for those needing consultation.
When employees seek advice about or report harassment, we will investigate each case based on their intentions and recognize cases of harassment if applicable. We strictly deal with cases recognized as harassment under the disciplinary action rules prescribed by each Group company. Additionally, we reflect cases in personnel evaluations and/or such measures as personnel transfers, depending on the details.

Japan Post Group FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023
Number of cases of harassment*1 134 88 108 124（*2）
  1. Number of cases of disciplinary action relating to harassment
  2. The incidence of harassment was about 0.03％ among all employees (about 370,000 in total).
  • Coverage: Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd., Japan Post Co., Ltd., Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd., and Japan Post Insurance Co., Ltd.

Labor initiatives

Realizing a human resource system adaptive to environmental changes

In light of rapid changes in the business environment, the Japan Post Group is reviewing its labor force composition with an eye on future business and responding to laws and regulations related to equal pay for equal work. Regarding employee treatment, we will continue to promote employees from contract worker to full-time employee status, further improve employee treatment, and make efforts to realize a simple and more acceptable salary system.

Initiatives to reduce working hours

The Japan Post Group complies with the laws and regulations relating to the Article 36 agreement and maintains a policy of reducing excessive working hours. Under the policy, we ensure appropriate management of working hours at each workplace and take a variety of initiatives to reduce overtime by increasing business efficiency and reforming the work climate so that all employees can exhibit their capacities to the full and fully enjoy working.

Complying with Industrial Safety and Health Act and related laws and regulations

The Japan Post Group complies with the Industrial Safety and Health Act and related laws and regulations and ensures constant and thorough management and confirmation to prevent violations in existing business operations. We also check compliance with the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the presence of a structure that prevents legal violations when any company is newly formed or M&A takes place.

Increase of wages

To make sure that all people can maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living as set out in Article 25 of the Constitution of Japan, the Japan Post Group, as its basic policy, complies with labor-related laws and regulations, pays a wage superior to the minimum wage of the region, and pays a fair wage according to jobs such as positions. We also conduct labor-management consultations every year to improve the wage level, including salaries, bonuses, and benefits, so that employees and their families in all regions can lead a richer life. We promise we will make further improvement.
Endorsing "the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value" in C100 - Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) of the International Labour Organization, the Japan Post Group maintains standards for paying equal remuneration without sexual discrimination for work of equal value.

Complying with the labor-related laws and regulations

In existing business operations, the Japan Post Group complies with labor-related laws and regulations and ensures the constant management and confirmation to prevent legal violations. We also check compliance with labor-related laws and regulations and the presence of a structure that can prevent legal violations when any new company is set up or M&A takes place.

Labor/management relations

The Japan Post Group respects labor rights (the right to unionize and the right to work in groups for collective bargaining and others) in accordance with the Constitution of Japan and the Labor Union Act.
Within the Japan Post Group, there are labor unions including the Japan Postal Group Union. Collective bargaining is carried out for varied working conditions such as the wages and working hours of employees while equality is ensured between labor and management.

*Note: Number of employees eligible for collective bargaining and agreement (Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post, Japan Post Bank, Japan Post Insurance): Approx. 340,000 (approx. 91.6％ of all employees of four companies; as of the end of March 2024)

Relevant information

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