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Human Rights

Teijin Group Human Rights Policy

The Teijin Group has established a human rights policy as its fundamental stance to respect the dignity and rights of all individuals.

The Teijin Group Human Rights Policy

The word "Together" in the Teijin Group's Purpose, is to express our desire for our employees to work together with respect for each other's differences and diversity, collaborate with external partners, and to be a company that continues to resonate with various stakeholders including our customers. As our basic stance of respecting every human's dignity and rights, we*1 stipulate the following in this Teijin Group Human Rights Policy.

  1. 1.Commitment

    We recognize that respecting human rights is an important social responsibility that a company must fulfill. We will take action to ensure that we are not directly involved in any abuse of human rights*3, nor indirectly complicit through our relevant external parties*2.

  2. 2.Foundational principles

    We follow the fundamental principles described in the United Nation (UN) International Bill of Human Rights (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work*4.
    We respect the UN Guiding Principles on Businesses and Human Rights, the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact and the Children's Rights and Business Principles.

  3. 3.Responsibility

    The Chief Executive Officer of the Teijin Group takes responsibility for implementing this Policy.

  4. 4.Education, Training and Collaboration

    We educate and train both our corporate officers and employees to make sure that this Policy is fully embedded in our business and carried out effectively. In addition, we expect our relevant external parties to understand and respect human rights in line with this Policy, and collaboratively respect for human rights.

  5. 5.Due Diligence

    We develop the human rights due diligence process to identify actual or potential negative impacts on human rights and seek to prevent or mitigate these negative impacts.

  6. 6.Remedy

    When we recognize that we directly cause or indirectly influence adverse impacts on human rights, we conduct dialogue with relevant parties and address such impacts through appropriate procedures.

  7. 7.Disclosure and Dialogue

    In our corporate website, we disclose progress and outcome of our efforts to respect human rights. We also conduct dialogue with our stakeholders about our efforts.

  1. *1“We” means the Teijin Group and its corporate officers and employees.
  2. *2“Our relevant external parties” are all external organizations and people, including suppliers and partners, with whom we do business.
  3. *3“The abuse of human rights” incorporates any discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender identity (SOGIESC, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sex Characteristics), etc.
  4. *4This includes endorsement and respect for "the abolition of child labour"; "the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour"; "the elimination of discrimination"; "freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining in respect of employment and occupation,"; and "a safe and healthy working environment," as the ILO Core Labour Standards.

Resolved at the Board of Directors of Teijin Limited held on March 1, 2019
Revised at the Board of Directors of Teijin Limited held on August 3, 2021
Revised at the Board of Directors of Teijin Limited held on July 29, 2025

Initiatives

The Teijin Group is committed to working in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (hereafter, "UNGPs") established by the United Nations in 2011 and the International Labour Organization (ILO) standards.*

  • *It includes endorsement and respect for "the effective abolition of child labour," "the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour," "the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation," "freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining in respect of employment and occupation" and "a safe and healthy working environment" as ILO Core Labour Standards.

We acknowledge that it is our important corporate social responsibility to value human rights. Based on this awareness, we do our best to avoid direct involvement with, as well as indirectly influence through our relevant external parties, any abuse of human rights. We also promote respect for human rights in collaboration with external stakeholders. Furthermore, we develop a human rights due diligence process to identify actual or potential negative impacts on human rights and seek to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts. Under the responsibility of the CEO, we implement the Teijin Group Human Rights Policy. In June 2018, the Teijin Group reformulated its Code of Conduct into five items: "Together," "Environment, Safety & Health," "Integrity," "Joy at Work," and "Innovation." We clearly express our commitment to human rights in the section on "Integrity."

  • Integrity: We act with integrity in compliance with laws and regulations, and show respect for human rights and local communities in which we operate.
  • We respect human rights and do not tolerate any discrimination and harassment in any part of our business and supply chain. We also maintain accountability by ensuring that our business is conducted in a way that helps to win the trust of local communities.
  • We comply with applicable laws and regulations in every country and region where we do business, including multilateral laws and regulations, and respect internationally-accepted principles.

With the aim of sharing this Code of Conduct with the entire Teijin Group, in August 2020 we created a video message featuring our CEO which was sent to all our Group companies with subtitles in local languages of all regions and countries in which the Teijin Group operates. Additionally, in March 2019 the Teijin Group Human Rights Policy was resolved at the Board of Directors of Teijin Limited. Under this policy, we pledge to endeavor neither to be involved directly nor to be complicit indirectly by way of external affiliates or business relation, in any kind of human rights violations in our business activities, in recognition of the fact that respect for human rights is an important corporate social responsibility to be fulfilled by the Company. With regard to the U.K.'s Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Teijin Group Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement is posted on our corporate website.

Implementation of Human Rights Due Diligence

The Teijin Group conducts human rights risk assessments every few years to identify and understand the negative human rights risks and impacts of each of our businesses. Following the first risk assessment in FY2018, we conducted a second assessment from March to December 2023. We evaluated geographical risk, product risk, employment risk, and industry risk based on qualitative information about each business and quantitatively analyzed the aggregate total risk of each business as its human rights violation risk. In the 2023 assessment, we confirmed that, in addition to the Fibers & Products Converting Business being recognized as high risk in continuation from 2018, product risk and industry risk are increasing in the aramid business, and we are taking measures accordingly for each risk. Please see the archive pages of our corporate website for information on past initiatives.

Survey target

The 12 business units of the Teijin Group*

  • *1. Aramid, 2. Carbon Fibers, 3. Resin & Plastic Processing, 4. Corporate Business Incubation, 5. Composites, 6. Fibers & Products Converting, 7. Pharmaceuticals, 8. Home Healthcare, 9. IT, 10. Material New Business, 11. Healthcare New Business, and 12. Engineering

Survey method

Analyzing the qualitative information from the 12 surveyed business units, we evaluated geopolitical risks, product-specific risks, employment status-specific risks, and industry risks, and based on the total assessment of these risks, provided each business unit with a score for human rights violation risk.*

  • *Definition of "human rights violation risk" covered by this survey
  1. 1.This survey focused on "modern slavery," a term used to describe all human rights abuses including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labor, and human trafficking.
  2. 2.In this survey, the following factors were analyzed to gauge modern slavery risk:
  • Highly competitive industries, with low barriers to entry and operations in jurisdictions with weak labor laws and ineffective union representation;
  • Prevalence of low-skilled workers;
  • High number of female workers;
  • Documented cases of child labor;
  • High proportion of migrant labor in the workforce;
  • Documented cases of human trafficking;
  • Documented cases of harmful employment practices;
  • Documented cases of debt bondage;
  • Operation in fragile or conflict affected areas;
  • High proportions of refugees in the workforce;
  • Operation in countries with highly repressive regimes;
  • Industries in which low-skilled labor is used to carry out so-called "three D" jobs (dirty, dangerous, and difficult), such as work involving dangerous or physically arduous manual labor, work involving prolonged periods of repetitive motion, and work that is stigmatized or socially devalued. These jobs are typically carried out by migrants, minorities, or socially marginalized groups that are highly vulnerable to exploitation.
  1. 3.In this survey, the characteristics of "forced labor" are as follows:
  • The illegal withholding and deduction of wages;
  • The illegal confiscation of identity documents, such as passports;
  • Debt bondage (Forced labor as security for debt repayment. It is said that more than 51% of workers engaged in forced labor are bonded by debts.);
  • Forced overtime
  • Various forms of coercion by employers or recruiters, such as verbal, physical, or sexual harassment;
  • Labor patterns involving intensive work, long working hours, or the repetition of simple tasks that give rise to serious labor health and safety risks

Survey results

In the 2023 assessment, we evaluated geographic risk, product risk, employment mode risk, and industry risk based on qualitative information about each business, and quantitatively analyzed the aggregate of these risks as the potential human rights violation risk for each business. We are taking the following measures for the Fibers & Products Converting Business and Aramid Business, which have been assessed as having high product risk and industry risk:

Identified issues Countermeasures
Fibers & Products
Converting Business
Aramid Business		 Apparel product manufacturing potentially at high risk due to low wages, poor working conditions, the use of migrant workers, and gender/racial discrimination
  • Conduct interviews on the employment status and treatment of migrant workers at each business site
  • Conduct the CSR Procurement Survey and interviews with suppliers, and visit high-risk suppliers for investigation
    		•
    Fibers & Products Converting Business High geographic risk due to business operations in Myanmar, Thailand, China, etc.
    Aramid Business High geographic risk due to business operations in Russia, China, etc. Withdraw business from Russia (completed in March 2022)
    Potential risk of facilitating Ukraine human rights violations due to direct/indirect support or goods provided to Russian government (dual-use) Alert customers, confirm transaction purposes, and conduct thorough risk-based transaction examinations to prevent re-sales from flowing into embargoed areas

    Initiatives to Promote Respect for Human Rights among Employees

    Human rights training

    The Teijin Group holds corporate ethics training for all executives and employees every October during Corporate Ethics Month. This training deepens their understanding of the Group's policies on human rights. In the Fibers & Products Converting Business, we offer three e-learning courses for employees. In FY2024, 98% of employees in Japan and overseas participated in these courses. Each year, we provide each supplier with feedback on their CSR Procurement Survey results and offer actionable guidance, helping them to recognize the issues they face and work toward improvement. In the Fibers & Products Converting Business, Teijin Frontier has held CSR Supply Chain Seminars every year since 2014 for processing, sewing and embroidery factories, material manufacturers, and other suppliers. In FY2024, we held these seminars in Vietnam, Myanmar, and Japan. The Teijin Group believes it is important to raise awareness of CSR procurement locally on an ongoing basis.

    Response and use of comments received by counseling and reporting center

    The Teijin Group has established a consultation and reporting desk for employees of Group companies. Teijin's website also provides a contact point for receiving reports from persons other than employees of Teijin Group companies, such as suppliers. These measures ensure that problems are addressed promptly and prevented from recurring. The table below shows the number of harassment cases among received internal reports. None of the reports constituted a serious violation of human rights. The Teijin Group believes a certain number of reports is appropriate.

    Japan Europe USA Asia Total
    FY2022 18 8 11 0 37
    FY2023 28 5 10 1 44
    FY2024 51 2 22 1 76

    Engagement and Dialogue with Stakeholders

    To advance our human rights initiatives in line with international trends and standards for business and human rights, we hold regular dialogues with external experts versed in domestic and international developments in this field. Through these dialogues, we gain real-time understanding of the Teijin Group's business situation and its human rights impact, and discuss the appropriate direction for our response.

    Initiatives to Promote Respect for Human Rights among Suppliers

    In order to ensure respect for human rights throughout the entire supply chain, the Teijin Group has incorporated a section on human rights and labor in its CSR Procurement Guidelines and urges suppliers to make efforts to respect human rights. In FY2017, with reference to ISO 20400, an international standard relating to sustainable procurement, as well as other international standards, we clearly stipulated detailed initiatives on the following items relating to human rights and labor, etc.:

    Human Rights and Labor
    Forced labor Child and youth labor Foreign workers Working hours and paid leave
    Wages and welfare Discrimination Harassment Freedom of association

    In FY2024, the Teijin Group continued to conduct CSR procurement questionnaire surveys of its major suppliers with the aim of assessing their efforts to respect human rights. For companies that provided doubtful answers regarding human rights, we inquire and confirm whether there are any concerns. In addition, regarding the Fibers & Products Converting Business Group, which was identified as having a relatively high risk of human rights violations in the risk assessment of human rights due diligence, Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd, a representative Group company, has conducted seminars and on-site audits on an ongoing basis for business partners in Asia and Japan with the aim of ensuring local business partners' legal compliance and protection of human rights. We will continue to conduct management and awareness-raising activities for businesses with high risks of human rights violations upon confirmation with third-party organizations and external experts.

    The Fibers & Products Converting Business, which has accepted foreign technical intern trainees for many years through the foreign technical intern training system, conducted an internal survey and discovered that trainees paid large fees to sending agencies in their home countries for coming to Japan. Since the practice of sending agencies requiring technical intern trainees to bear recruitment costs violates the International Labour Organization (ILO) Private Employment Agencies Convention, Teijin Frontier Group launched the ZERO-FEE PROJECT in FY2019. As the accepting entity, the Group now covers these fees to eliminate the financial burden on trainees. To ensure the effectiveness of the project, we accept technical intern trainees exclusively from ethical supervising organizations that support Teijin Frontier Group's philosophy and disclose information on sending agencies' fees and related matters. Such subsidiaries also confirm directly with the foreign trainees that they have not paid such fees. We are also conducting periodic surveys on the treatment status of the foreign technical intern trainees employed by our suppliers. We have confirmed that there were no serious violations of laws, such as the Japanese Labor Standards Act.

    • *There are some instances where foreign trainees are forced to pay, before they come to Japan, a local recruitment firm their recruitment costs that were incurred during the local recruitment process. In some cases, trainees are forced to pay amounts that are equivalent to years of income. As a result, foreign trainees often need to earn as much as possible, which can lead to problems such as long working hours at their own request and disappearance just before returning to Japan.

    Teijin Group Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement

    The statement is made in accordance with the U.K.'s Modern Slavery Act which came into force in the United Kingdom in 2015.