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Respect for Human Rights

Initiatives regarding respect for human rights

JAPAN POST BANK recognizes that respect for human rights is an important social responsibility in realizing its management philosophy of becoming "the most accessible and trusted bank in Japan." Based on this recognition, JAPAN POST BANK respects the human rights of all people, including officers and employees of JAPAN POST BANK, customers and business partners.

In addition, in order to contribute to the realization of a safe, secure, and prosperous society by promoting respect for human rights through the business and social activities of the Bank and the Japan Post Group, the Bank has established the "JAPAN POST BANK Human Rights Policy" and is implementing various initiatives, while making it known to all officers and employees. For more information, see the Human Rights Report (issued in 2024).

Related Information

Initiatives of the Japan Post Group Respect for Human Rights and Labor

JAPAN POST BANK Human Rights Policy

Human Rights Report

Click here to view the Human Rights Report.

image of Human Rights Report PDF

Human Rights Report (PDF/1,946KB)

Human rights awareness promotion system

The Human Rights Enlightenment Promotion Committee, chaired by the Executive Officer in charge of Human Resources Department and composed of the Regional Headquarters general managers, the Operation Support Center directors, and other members, is engaged in company-wide human rights enlightenment efforts.

Diagram of human rights awareness promotion council

Conduct human rights due diligence

Human rights due diligence is a series of processes that (1) Identification and Evaluation of Human Rights Issues, (2) Prevention and Mitigation of Human Rights Issues, (3) Evaluating Effectiveness (Monitoring), and (4) Information Disclosures while responding to human rights policy formulation and revision, stakeholder engagement, and remedies.
In April 2024, we published a human rights report summarizing the Bank's human rights initiatives. We will continue to enhance and upgrade our human rights initiatives by regularly checking the status of our human rights due diligence efforts and reporting on them at various meetings.

Diagram of human rights due diligence diagram

Identification and Evaluation of Human Rights Issues (risk mapping)

Based on international guidelines and the roles expected of financial institutions, the Bank identifies human rights issues to be addressed in its overall business.The identified human rights issues are evaluated (mapped) on two axes of severity and likelihood of occurrence, and are reviewed once a year as part of the evaluation of the implementation of human rights due diligence, including the occurrence of human rights issues that should be added to the mapping.
In particular, in identifying and assessing the ILO Core Labour Standards (effective recognition of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining; elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour (including trafficking in persons); effective abolition of child labour; elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation (including equal pay for equal work); safe and healthy working environments) We do this while taking into consideration our employees, customers, suppliers, and business partners exposed to human rights risks, including vulnerable groups (e.g., women, children, indigenous peoples, migrant workers, etc.) and local communities.

Diagram of risk mapping of human rights issues

Prevention and Mitigation of Human Rights Issues

We implement a variety of initiatives to prevent and mitigate human rights issues, and provide various training and awareness programs for employees.

(Reference) Major Initiatives for Employees

Preventative initiatives Improve systems allowing for consultation with peace of mind Training (frequency/targets)
  • Issue message from the top management
  • Provide training and awareness raising opportunities
    • Training for executives, job-level based training, etc.
    • Raise awareness through informational publications (bimonthly)
  • Call for, select, and recommend human rights slogans for submission to the Japanese Bankers Association and other external organizations
  • Assign harassment councilors
    (one male and one female for each business location)
  • Build a consultation network with third parties outside of business locations (support staff visit branches)
  • Establish a one-stop consultation and reporting platform (JAPAN POST GROUP)
  • Establish an external harassment hotline
  • Conduct harassment councilor training
  • Training (frequency/targets)
  • Training for new employees (once a year/new employees)
  • Training for directors and executives
  • Position-specific and Job-specific training
    (once a year/some targets)
  • Human rights awareness e-learning training
    (once a year/all employees)
  • Information magazine "Jinken Shinmun" (bimonthly 6 times a year/all employees)
*:
In addition to the head office, prevention and mitigation measures are implemented at each of the 233 sales branches (233 locations), 13 area headquarters (13 locations), and 17 savings administration centers and other centers (17 locations) located throughout Japan.

For other initiatives by stakeholder, please refer to the Human Rights Report.

Human Rights Report (PDF/1,946KB)

Implementing various types of training

Under the human rights awareness promotion system, JAPAN POST BANK conducts workplace harassment prevention training and human rights awareness training for officers and all employees regarding various issues such as those involving people with disabilities, foreigners, senior citizens, sexual diversity, and social minorities (outcast discrimination). We are also raising awareness through means such as publishing a regular newsletter Jinken Tsuushin (Human Rights Report)(Covering harassment and human rights awareness) and conducting employee level-based training.
We collect and award human rights awareness slogans once every year and submit the slogans to external organizations, including the Japanese Bankers Association.

Harassment Consultation Counter,etc., and response to remedies

We have developed a system where employees can securely seek consultation by ensuring each organization is staffed with one male and one female harassment consultant, who serve as internal contacts for consultation regarding various types of harassment and human rights violations. We have also set up external contact counters.
Consultations received at harassment counseling centers are investigationin cooperation with specialist organizations inside and outside the company in response to the wishes of the counselor, and corrective measures are taken, and efforts are made to provide relief to the counselor.

  • A list of the types of contact counters is displayed at each business location, and we provide a platform on our internal portal site that allows the contact counters to be accessed centrally, including the external contact counters.
  • When employees contact consultants or contact counters, we inform them that consultations can be held anonymously, and we endeavor to maintain confidentiality of consultations and minimize the scope in which information is shared.
  • We are conducting training based on examples from both within and outside JAPAN POST BANK to improve the skills of consultants.

Examples of improvements based on customer feedback

The following are examples of improvements based on customer feedback related to human rights issues identified by the Bank.

Complaints, opinions and requests Response taken
  • I want to make inquiries via telephone using a Telecommunications Relay Service.
  • We accommodated the use of the Telecommunications Relay Service for all procedures and inquiries that can be handled over the phone.
  • I have a hearing impairment, so I want it to be possible to register on the app without using automatic voice recognition.
  • In addition to the existing automatic voice recognition service, we also added SMS-based verification* for customers who have registered their mobile phone numbers to their accounts.
  • I want to open a general account at the counter, but I'm not Japanese so it's difficult to fill out the application documents in the Japanese language.
  • We introduced a multilingual system on our website that enables customers to use their home computer, etc., to prepare the necessary application documents for opening a general account.
*:
An authentication method that confirms the identity of the individual by sending a verification code (one-time password) via SMS (Short Message Service) to the telephone number registered to the account, and having the individual enter that verification code to verify their identity. Used when registering on an app, etc.

For other redress channels (internal reporting channels and improvements based on customer feedback (complaints, opinions, and requests), please refer to the related information.

Related Information

Compliance System

CS Improvement Initiatives (Japanese version only)

Provision of High-quality, Customer-oriented Financial Services

Stakeholder Engagement

JAPAN POST BANK is engaging stakeholders in dialogue as a way to objectively examine our initiatives. We aim to continue improving our human rights due diligence in the future through continued conversations with various stakeholders.

Related Information

Dialogue with outside experts (external website / JAPAN POST HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.)