Human Rights
We introduce our initiatives related to human rights.
As a company that operates globally, we are exposed to significant human rights risks, including our supply chain. We aim to turn our initiatives in addressing human rights risks into opportunities by identifying high-risk regions and industries, managing these risks, and making full use of our strengths in being able to integrate with local communities and work hand in hand with local people to conduct our business.
Policies and Guidelines
Supporting the UN Global Compact
In 2017, the Yamaha Motor Group signed on to the UN Global Compact advocated by the United Nations. As a corporate group, we have and will continue to support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, which support the principles related to human rights and labor in the UN Global Compact.
The Yamaha Motor Group strives to ensure legal compliance in every country and community where the Group companies pursue business activities. But no matter what laws and regulations might prevail, business is conducted with priority given to international agreements and the spirit of the UN Global Compact. In addition, the scope of respect for human rights goes beyond employees of the Yamaha Motor Group to include suppliers and other business partners.
Yamaha Motor Group Sustainability Basic Policy
We have made the declaration that “We will respect human rights, will not discriminate, and will not use child labor or carry out forced labor under any form” toward all stakeholders, including employees and business partners.
Yamaha Motor Group Human Rights Policy
Based on the Yamaha Motor Group Sustainability Basic Policy, we have established the Human Rights Policy that serves as the foundation for all Yamaha Motor Group business activities.
Code of Ethics
The Code of Ethics prohibits all forms of harassment against employees including sexual harassment and power harassment, child labor and forced labor, and slander against employees concerning matters pertaining to their fundamental human rights such as their race, nationality, ideology, religion, gender, philosophy of life, bodies, sexual orientation, personality, relatives, age or health conditions, and encourages efforts to create environments where people respect diversity and acknowledge each other and where they can vibrantly display their abilities.
Sustainability Guideline for Suppliers
We ask that our suppliers strive in all aspects of employment to eliminate discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex and other issues, to refrain from the use of child labor or forced labor, to ensure fair working hours and wages, and to engage employees in dialogue and communication in good faith.
Statement on Modern Slavery Act
In accordance with the Modern Slavery Act, we publish a statement on our website in the United Kingdom and Australia and update it yearly.
Thorough, Company-wide Implementation of Human Rights Policy
In regard to human resources development, in our stratified training, we take up sustainability as a topic and include explanations related to human rights. Additionally, human rights-related training is provided by establishing it as a theme for inclusion in compliance training and in e-learning.
We obtain written resolutions from the Boards of Directors from all group companies stating compliance with the Yamaha Motor Group Human Rights Policy, and for major group companies, we give explanations to management and the departments in charge and provide materials for employee education.
We send our business partners a statement requesting compliance with our Human Rights Policy, signed by the company president, we obtain a commitment form from our suppliers stating their compliance with our Sustainability Guideline for Suppliers, and we ask dealers to incorporate compliance with our Human Rights Policy when they renew their contracts with us. In addition, the "Sustainability Guideline for Suppliers" includes sections on "Human Rights" and "Working Environment" which clearly states our stance on respecting human rights, prohibiting child labor and forced labor, ensuring appropriate wages, and engaging in dialogue and consultation with employees.
Human Rights Due Diligence
Group companies including headquarters
It is important to understand which areas of our business activities, including the supply chain, have the greatest potential impact on human rights. We identify negative impacts on human rights within our own business activities and strive to avoid and mitigate them.
When starting a new business, we implement due diligence concerning the risks in the environment, society, human rights, and labor related business and regionality.
We conducted risk mapping across all business divisions and group companies to identify potential risks of human rights violation. In addition, we carried out risk assessments based on criteria established in collaboration with a third-party organization and assessed the risk environment of each business division and group company.
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Human rights due diligence in the supply chain is not carried out by a single division at headquarters but is implemented by each business division and group company. This approach helps deepen understanding of due diligence procedures and promotes the accumulation of implementation records.
Starting in 2025, on-site human rights due diligence assessments of business partners will be conducted by the responsible headquarters division, business divisions, and group companies, with efforts to identify issues and support business partners in their improvement activities.
Business Partners
In 2019, we had a third party assess the labor environment including issues of human rights abuses at suppliers in our major market of Indonesia, and in 2021 and 2022 we worked with a third-party organization specializing in human rights to perform assessments and follow-ups focusing on foreign technical interns at suppliers in Japan.
In 2023, we used the formulation of the Yamaha Motor Group Human Rights Policy as an opportunity to increase comprehensiveness, and began risk assessments and self-diagnosis surveys targeting direct material suppliers.
In 2024, the risk assessments were completed 100%, and the self-diagnosis survey exceeded the target, reaching 149% of the intended medium- to high-risk suppliers—meaning we were also able to collect information from low-risk suppliers. Based on the results of both the risk assessments and self-diagnosis surveys, we began finalizing the risks for each supplier. Proactively acting on this information, we conducted on-site visits to direct material suppliers in India and Indonesia, which we had already identified as having high-risk environments. At the visited suppliers, while the importance of policies on sustainability and human rights was understood, many companies had not yet reached the point of planning concrete activities or promoting awareness both internally and externally—particularly in the area of respecting human rights.
Given this background, the Yamaha Motor Group has renewed its recognition of the importance of providing guidance and support for improvement prior to conducting audits or monitoring of suppliers. Going forward, we will promote activities that encourage the advancement of human rights initiatives and the expansion of efforts across the supply chain through on-site confirmations.
Correction and Relief
For internal stakeholders, we have established and are operating internal reporting systems (Whistle-Blowing Systems) through the Compliance Hotline to enable prompt reporting of compliance-related matters, including human rights matters.
For external stakeholders, the following Human Rights Hotline is available for reporting human rights-related matters. In 2024, nine cases were reported through the hotline, and appropriate measures have been taken.
Human Rights Hotline for External Stakeholders
Reports to the Human Rights Hotline from our external stakeholders are accepted via the web form on this website.
ELIGIBLE MATTERS
Human Rights Hotline accepts matters in which the business activities of Yamaha Motor Group or those of our business partners associated with our group's business activities have caused systematic and substantive negative impacts (harms) on human rights in violation of international principles or national laws on human rights (e.g., forced labor, child labor, significant lack of occupational health and safety, negative impacts on local residents due to environmental pollution), or matters in which there is concern that systematic and substantive negative impacts (harms) on human rights may occur.
Human Rights Hotline does not accept matters that are not related to human rights stipulated in international principles or national laws on human rights, such as individual complaints about human relations or discretionary acts of personnel management in the workplace, or complaints regarding the quality of the Yamaha Motor Group's products or services.
ELIGIBLE USERS
The eligible users are those who have suffered negative impacts (harms) on their human rights, and those who belong to the same organization, entities, etc. as the person who has suffered negative impacts (harms) on their human rights.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE REPORTING
- Response to the matters reported anonymously may be limited.
- We respond to reports that meet the Eligible Matters, the Eligible Users, and other instructions in the report form. Nevertheless, the reports meeting said criteria may not be responded, depending on the nature of the matters.
- Contents of the report and the submitted materials will be used by Yamaha Motor Group or our external agents, service providers, or business partners to the extent necessary for responding to the matters, including investigation and taking corrective and remedial measures.
- We may disclose or publish a summary of the operation of this Human Rights Hotline.
- Human Rights Hotline is not available for Yamaha Motor Group employees and other internal stakeholders.
- You may report either in Japanese or English.
※The above is a standard handling flow, and the actual flow may vary depending on the case.
Preventing Harassment
In light of the rapidly growing need to address and adapt to human rights risks throughout the supply chain, the Yamaha Motor Group has stipulated in its Code of Ethics that it forbids slander against employees concerning matters pertaining to their race, nationality, philosophy of life, bodies, personality, families, etc., forbids words and actions that deny an individual’s personhood, and also forbids sexual harassment and all other actions that constitute harassment. However, anyone can become a perpetrator of harassment without intending to, and once serious incidents of harassment occur, they have the potential to affect not only the victims but also the Company, the organization and even our business activities themselves.
Therefore, we endeavor to foster an organizational culture that makes it hard for harassment to occur through initiatives such as spreading the diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) the Group is engaged in and increasing employee engagement. When an incident does occur, we handle it speedily and appropriately, including working to prevent a recurrence, and we continue to raise awareness and undertake educational activities to prevent harassment from ever occurring.
Moreover, in addition to the existing compliance incident reporting contact points for Japan, in 2023 we added new consultation points dedicated to harassment and labor issues, and we created a reporting line to allow people who suffered or heard or saw harassment to consult someone promptly on the issue. When we receive a report of harassment, we conduct a hearing with the persons concerned to confirm the situation, after which we take appropriate ways such as disciplinary actions or instructions, and take measures to prevent a recurrence.
