Murata and Society

Respect for Human Rights

Basic approach, policy, and system
Human rights due diligence
Grievance mechanism
Education and training on human rights
Stakeholder engagement

Basic approach, policy, and system

At Murata, we manufacture and provide products all over the world, with support from diverse people including our employees, business partners, and members of local communities. Each and every one of these people involved with Murata are rights holders, and protecting and respecting their human rights is the bedrock of our corporate activities.

Based on this approach, we support global standards related to social responsibilities including the UN "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights" and the International Labour Organization (ILO) "Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work," and promote respect for human rights of each and every individual related to our value chain.

Toward that end, we establish human rights policies and strive to promote continuous operations through such means as conducting human rights due diligence, establishing a grievance mechanism, and conducting human rights training based on these policies.

Murata is also a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), a company alliance that promotes corporate social responsibility in global supply chains. As a member of the RBA, we fully support the vision and mission of the RBA, respect the RBA Code of Conduct, and have incorporated these into the "Murata Group Human Rights Policy."

Overall image of initiatives for respecting human rights

Murata Group Human Rights Policy

Preamble
We (Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and the member companies of the Murata Group, hereinafter referred to as “Murata”) recognize that respect for human rights is a topic of universal significance, and one that is extremely important in business; we believe that respecting human rights is a key aspect of our responsibility to society as we strive to realize sustainable business activities. This Human Rights Policy has been drawn up, and approved by our Board of Directors, with the aim of fulfilling our responsibility to respect human rights in line with the Murata Philosophy and our Corporate Ethics Policy.
This Policy applies to all Murata company officers and employees.

Our Commitment to Respecting Human Rights
Murata respects the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, and the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct.
Murata respects the laws and regulations that apply in the countries and regions where Murata does business. In the event that the laws or regulations of a particular country or region conflict with international human rights principles, Murata will strive to adopt an approach that respects international human rights principles.
Murata will not allow human rights defenders to be coerced, threatened, physically attacked, or attacked through legal means.
Value Chain – Expectations and Responsibilities
In all the countries and regions where Murata conducts business, Murata respects both internationally recognized standards and the laws and regulations, cultures, religions, customs, and histories of the individual country or region. Based on this respect, Murata also respects the fundamental human rights of everyone in the value chain, including Murata employees, the employees of Murata’s business partners (including suppliers and customers), local residents and other external stakeholders, and strives to uphold these rights and ensure that they are not infringed on.
Through its value chain, Murata will continue to encourage business partners and other related parties to support the Murata Group Human Rights Policy and to adopt similar policies themselves, and will promote efforts to collaborate with business partners and other related parties on the safeguarding of human rights.
If any non-compliance with this Policy is discovered, Murata will urge the party concerned to remedy the situation in a timely manner. If no improvement is seen, Murata may take appropriate action in terms of its business relationship with the party concerned.
Governance
In accordance with this Policy, Murata has established a Human Rights Committee as a sub-committee of the CSR Management Committee, which is chaired by the President, to implement initiatives and activities relating to human rights. The officer in charge of human rights, who chairs the Human Rights Committee, is responsible for performing oversight to confirm that the Murata Group Human Rights Policy is being followed.
Human Rights Issues Relating to Business Activities
Murata prohibits all forms of discrimination, forced labor, child labor, harassment, etc. and safeguards the right to freedom of association and the right to have reasonable working conditions (in terms of wages, working hours, safety management, etc.) as well as environmental and product safety, and the right to privacy. In addition, besides providing customers with safe products and services and implementing appropriate information disclosure, Murata also strives to maintain harmonious coexistence with the local community, taking into consideration ways in which its business activities might impact local people.
(For more details of Murata’s approach to human rights in relation to business activities, see the Appendix)
Human Rights Due Diligence Implementation Process
Murata will put in place a human rights due diligence framework, and will implement this on an ongoing basis. Human rights due diligence is a series of actions that include identifying, preventing, and mitigating any adverse impacts on human rights involving Murata, Group companies or suppliers, etc., evaluating the effectiveness of the measures taken in this regard, and fulfilling the duty of accountability.
Access to remedies
Murata will establish multiple internal and external contact windows so that all stakeholders can raise their concerns regarding human rights without fear of suffering disadvantageous treatment, and will put in place a system for handling grievances that takes into account suggestions from external experts.
Murata will not hinder a stakeholder seeking remedies via a judicial or non-judicial grievance mechanism, and will also collaborate constructively with any judicial or non-judicial grievance mechanism besides those provided by Murata itself. In addition, Murata will not impose the waiving of the legal right to make use of other judicial or non-judicial grievance mechanisms as a condition for using a particular grievance mechanism, and will not require confidentiality clauses in relation to human rights concerns. Furthermore, Murata will not permit the taking of retaliatory action against whistleblowers or persons who collaborate with surveys, and will provide protection for whistleblowers.
If it is confirmed that Murata’s business activities have caused an adverse impact on human rights, or have contributed to such an impact, Murata will speedily implement corrective measures, such as collaborating on the provision of remedies or on solving the problem.
Training and Awareness-raising
To strengthen understanding of and realize effective implementation of this Policy through its business activities, Murata will implement appropriate training for its company officers, managers, and employees, and verify implementation status, on a periodic, ongoing basis.
Information Disclosure
Murata will report on the implementation status of human rights initiatives and human rights due diligence based on this Policy on the Murata website as appropriate.
Stakeholder Engagement
With regard to the series of initiatives implemented based on this Policy, Murata will make effective use of the views of independent external experts, and will implement dialogue and consultation with relevant stakeholders in good faith.

Murata Manufacturing Co.,Ltd.
PresidentNorio Nakajima

This policy is subject to periodic supervision by the Board of Directors.

Link: (Appendix) Addressing Human Rights Issues Relating to Our Business Activities (PDF: 124KB)

System for promoting respect for human rights

Based on our human rights policies, we established the "Human Rights Committee" as a subcommittee to the CSR Management Committee chaired by our president to promote initiatives related to human rights. The Human Rights Committee, chaired by the officer in charge of human rights, serves as a forum for determining company-wide policies and initiatives, and meets regularly twice a year with the Human Resources, Procurement, and Sustainability departments playing a central role in addressing human rights in the company and related members added according to the issues.
Actions discussed by the Human Rights Committee are reported to and reviewed by the CSR Management Committee.
Respecting human rights is one of "Murata's key environmental and social issues (materiality)." We have established cross-departmental working groups and are advancing our initiatives through frequent and close collaboration. Progress on the initiatives is supervised by the Board of Directors.

Link: Identifying material issues

Goals and medium- to long-term targets for respecting human rights

We have set the 2030 goals and medium- to long-term goals with regard to promoting initiatives related to respecting human rights throughout the company.

Our Vision for 2030
To expand the scope and continuously implement human rights due diligence (risk identification, prevention and mitigation, monitoring and information disclosure) To ensure that grievance mechanisms are functioning throughout the entire value chain.
Medium- to long-term goals
FY 2027 targets	Implementation rates for prevention/mitigation of significant human rights risk that have been identified as well as monitoring and information disclosure: 100%
FY 2030 targets	Implementation rates for prevention/mitigation of significant human rights risk that have been identified as well as monitoring and information disclosure: 100%

Human rights due diligence

At Murata, we identify and assess, prevent and mitigate, monitor, and disclose information on adverse impacts, in accordance with the procedures described in the UN "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights."

Identification and assessment of adverse impacts

(1) Assessment of impacts on human rights throughout the value chain

We assessed impacts on human rights in the entire Murata Group in 2020, and have advanced initiatives to address the identified risks. In 2024, we once again assessed impacts on human rights in our value chain and identified risks, in light of changes in environments inside and outside the company.

<Steps for identifying/assessing adverse impacts>
STEP 1: Identify human rights risks, taking into account both industry risks and country risks throughout the value chain

List of identified human rights risks

Human rights risk	Impacted rights holders				Examples of anticipated negative impact
Human rights risk	Murata employees	Workers in the supply chain	Customers/consumers	Local communities	Examples of anticipated negative impact
Discrimination and harassment	✓	✓	-	-	Harassment between employees Discriminatory treatment related to labor conditions for or harassment toward foreign workers, etc. Lack of consideration for diversity and minorities Discriminatory hiring based on information provided in resumes
Appropriate payment of compensation and living wages	✓	✓	-	-	Insufficient or unpaid wages, or the failure to pay living wage or minimum wage Rewriting contracts or failing to provide social security, welfare, allowances, etc. Failure to ensure equal pay for equal work
Overwork, long working hours	✓	✓	-	-	Adverse physical/mental impacts due to long working hours or not receiving the legally stipulated number of days off Restrictions on the use of leave (paid leave, maternity leave, etc.), or insufficient information provided to employees regarding leave Overtime work perceived as normal based on local customs
Occupational safety and health	✓	✓	-	-	Adverse physical/mental impacts due to unsanitary environments, insufficient safety measures, or accidents Failure to provide opportunities for disaster drills and emergency action drills
Forced labor and child labor	✓	✓	-	-	People taken away or under forced employment through human trafficking or kidnapping Confiscation of passports or restrictions on movement Demanding fees from workers upon recruitment Impediment of learning opportunities for children or violation of their health or safety Inappropriate recruitment due to insufficient checking of the age of job applicants Nighttime or holiday work by young workers (under the age of 18), or other work that risks damaging their health or safety
Freedom of association and collective bargaining	✓	✓	-	-	Enforcing participation or non-participation in labor unions or inappropriately handling labor-management negotiations
Rights of foreign workers	✓	✓	-	-	Limitations on the freedom to movement through the retention of passports or other identification documents by the employer Insufficient consultation points available to foreign workers Lack of availability of employment rules, etc. in workers’ native language or a language they can understand Indebted labor due to advances (travel expenses, etc.) paid by the employer Lack of reasonable accommodation for religion or customs
Consumer safety and health (human rights issues with end users of products)	-	-	✓	✓	Physical impacts on consumers through use of products containing parts manufactured by Murata Use of parts manufactured by Murata in weapons
Human rights issues in the supply chain	-	✓	-	✓	Human rights violations in the supply chain Business activities that encourage human rights violations by suppliers or are directly linked to such violations The use of conflict minerals
Rights of indigenous peoples and local residents	-	-	-	✓	Release of pollutants and adverse impacts on local resident health due to plant operations Adverse impacts on living environments due to noise, traffic congestion, etc. Forcing local residents to move away from the area due to business activities Negative impacts on the lives, culture, or religion of indigenous peoples and local residents
Privacy rights	✓	✓	✓	✓	Leaking of information related to complaints received by the grievance service Leaking of personal information due to cyber attacks, etc. Excessive and constant monitoring during work/breaks Collecting and providing data to third parties or use it to monitor employees
Human rights related to technology and AI	✓	✓	✓	✓	Discriminatory recruitment activities or personnel management using AI Human rights violations through the unintended use of Murata products by customers
Right to access remedies	✓	✓	✓	✓	Inadequate grievance mechanism (language issues, insufficient assurance of anonymity, and process flaws)

STEP 2: Assess the significance of the identified human rights risks for each rights holder with regard to the severity and likelihood, and create a human rights risk map, taking into account trends identified through the company's reporting system, audits, and internal surveys, as well as dialogue with stakeholders, including local residents in countries where major business partners are located

STEP 3: Look into the policies to handle identified risks, and identify areas of particular priority to tackle among these risks (priority issues)

Priority areas to tackle (priority issues)

Priority issues		Future major initiatives	Related webpages
Healthy labor environments, and employee safety and security	In addition to initiatives to prevent employee overwork and reduce long working hours, we continue to address occupational safety and health issues focusing on our production sites.	Information sharing and training related to work-hour management Determining/monitoring domestic and overseas work hours	Approach to the human rights of our workforce
		Creation of a safety culture	Secure and safe workplace and health management
Responsible supply chains	We work with our business partners to tackle labor rights issues involving dispatched and subcontracted manufacturing workers on-site, as well as employees at supplier companies.	Worker interviews at production sites	Approach to the human rights of our workforce
Responsible supply chains		Supplier risk assessments and CSR audits	Responsibility to and actions concerning suppliers (CSR procurement initiative)
Consideration of human rights in society and local communities	We are engaged in protecting the rights of nearby local residents impacted by Murata's business activities.	Prevention of environmental pollution at production sites (chemical substance leaks, etc.)	Prevent pollution
		Continuing dialogue with local communities and local residents	Coexistence with society and local communities

(2) In-depth surveys of human rights risks for specific stakeholders

Internal initiatives:
We have established a human rights and labor management system, and conduct risk assessments every year at each site.
We also engage in dialogue with rights holders working at Murata, including dispatched workers and foreign workers, and conduct risk surveys on hiring processes, appropriate wages, and safety and health.

Link: Internal risk surveys
Supply chain initiatives:
In order to identify human rights risks at suppliers, we request the suppliers to conduct self-assessments regularly, and also conduct periodic on-site audits. During these on-site audits, we not only confirm their policies and rules but also employ diverse methods to gather information such as conducting employee interviews and checking work hours.
We also conduct regular assessments based on the OECD due diligence process with regard to substances such as cobalt mined in high-risk areas.

Link: Supplier risk assessment
Link: Responsible mineral procurement initiatives

Prevention and mitigation of adverse impacts

After identifying human rights risks through such means as assessments, audits, and complaints from stakeholders, we share information with related internal departments, and implement initiatives to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts.

<Examples of initiatives>

Healthy labor environments, and employee safety and security
- Addressing a labor issue at a Murata plant:
  During one survey conducted at a Murata plant in Vietnam, it was discovered that some workers had not received sufficient overtime pay for their work. We had the issue investigated by the local subsidiary, paid the employees the due overtime pay, and modified the work system as a measure to prevent recurrence of the problem.
Link: Results of addressing internal labor issues
Responsible supply chains
- Addressing a labor issue at a supplier:
  During a CSR audit of a supplier, we confirmed labor-related issues such as workers working seven days in a row without a day off or working over 60 hours a week. We notified the supplier that this would have an adverse impact on the health of workers, and instructed them to more carefully manage work hours and to ensure that supervisors and workers follow employment rules.
Link: Supplier assessments and corrective measures
Consideration of human rights in society and local communities
- Initiatives to prevent environmental pollution in local communities:
  If environmental pollution occurs due to chemical substances leaking from a plant, it could adversely impact the lives and health of local residents. In order to prevent this risk, we set and follow our own rules from both hard and soft aspects, such as installing emergency shutdown equipment to prevent leakage outside the site, or setting voluntary reference values that are stricter than regulatory requirements.
Link: Initiatives to prevent environmental pollution

Monitoring

In addition to monitoring the work conditions and work hours of Murata employees, engaging in discussion with labor unions, and conducting employee surveys, we regularly check the results of supplier risk assessments.
In order to ensure that measures for adverse impacts are being appropriately implemented and are effective, the Human Rights Committee chaired by the officer in charge of human rights sets goals for each issue and confirms the status of initiatives every six months.

Information disclosure

We disclose information through the Murata website and the Murata Value Report (integrated report).

Grievance mechanism

At Murata, we have established a system for receiving concerns and grievances about human rights from stakeholders, and for appropriately handling these issues.
We have established multiple services inside and outside the company in order to maintain an environment where employees, workers and suppliers throughout our value chain, members of local communities, and all other stakeholders can easily report issues and ask for advice.
When responding to a complaint received through one of these services, we ensure the privacy of the informant, and we have also established mechanisms to ensure that nothing detrimental will occur to the informant.

If it is determined that Murata's business activities have caused or contributed toward an adverse impact, we promptly implement appropriate corrective measures and strive to provide remedies to those who were impacted.

The following page contains a list of our consulting and reporting services.
Link: Consulting and reporting service for stakeholders

See here for details on our internal reporting system and the number of consultation cases we have received.
Link: Internal reporting system and consulting service

Education and training on human rights

We believe that continuous human rights training is essential, as the key to our success is for each and every employee to understand the connection between their work and human rights and to act accordingly.

Internally, we conduct training on our Corporate Ethics Policy and Code of Conduct including respecting human rights, for all domestic and overseas employees. We utilize a variety of opportunities to work toward enhancing human rights awareness among our employees, such as holding lecture meetings on business and human rights conducted by external specialists, conducting human rights training when employees join the company or are promoted to managerial positions, and holding human rights study sessions based on specific situations in the Human Resources Department.
We also conduct training specializing in preventing discrimination and harassment for all employees.

For our suppliers, we share our CSR Procurement Guidelines, which include instructions on respecting human rights. We also engage in direct dialogue with suppliers through conducting CSR audits, and communicate the importance of our procurement policies and guidelines.
We also share the latest information with suppliers and many other companies to educate and enlighten them so as to deepen their understanding of the importance of our initiatives, through participating in "Responsible Minerals Sourcing Inquiry Briefings" hosted by JEITA.

See here for details on our discrimination and harassment training and participation rates in this training.
Link: Discrimination/harassment training

Stakeholder engagement

At Murata, we value dialogue with stakeholders as a means of understanding adverse impacts and why they occur, and in order to more easily improve our methods for handling such impacts. We engage in dialogue on all of our initiatives with regard to respecting human rights, including human rights due diligence, with labor unions, business partners including partner companies and suppliers, and members of local communities.

Examples of dialogue

Logistics partner companies

Long working hours and labor safety and health are major issues in the logistics industry. At Osaka Logistics Center, one of Murata's logistics sites, we hold regular meetings with multiple partner companies involved in warehouse management and transportation, in order to engage in dialogue about labor and safety issues and make necessary improvements. As a result of exchanging information, we keep work environments safe based on suggestions from individuals working on-site, such as revising the truck berth layout to ensure safety while also accommodating fluctuations in on-site logistics.
The new Labor Standards Act came into effect in Japan in 2024, and has resulted in what is called the "2024 problem" in which the total hours drivers spend on the road are restricted. In order to respond to this problem, we worked with our partner companies to implement measures such as setting up warehouses as hub sites in order to reduce the total hours drivers spend on the road.
Local communities

At Murata, we keep our commitment to be "a company whose presence in local communities is a source of pride and joy to those communities." We consider our local communities and their residents to be important stakeholders, and promote various initiatives with this in mind.
One of our initiatives is to provide periodic opportunities to exchange opinions with everyone in the local community in order to prevent human rights issues and other problems from Murata plants. If we receive grievances, we use these as opportunities for discussion.
There has been an increase in foreign workers at Murata, we believe it is important to make it easier for these workers to harmoniously live and be involved in local communities. At Izumo Murata Manufacturing, we work with partner companies on such initiatives as dispatching interpreters to elementary schools and junior high schools, and donating foreign-language books, based on issues identified during meetings to exchange opinions held with the local Board of Education once per year.
In this way, we connect employees, foreign workers, and local communities through positive communication, to prevent discrimination, respect diversity, and promote multiculturalism.

Link: Coexistence with society and local communities
UNDP Business and Human Rights Academy

Murata participated in the Business and Human Rights Academy run by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in which we learned about practical methods for applying human rights due diligence over the course of two days of research.
We also participated in individual guidance sessions and engaged in discussion with domestic and overseas specialists on Murata's human rights initiatives. There, while we received positive feedback on our thorough initiatives with regard to labor both internally and in our suppliers, we also received advice on working with a greater awareness of our value chain with regard to overall human rights initiatives, and on the need to disclose the results of such efforts.
Based on this advice, we incorporated a value chain perspective in our human rights impact assessments for 2024 and when revising our 2025 human rights policies.
Other examples of dialogue

Link: Labor unions
Link: Suppliers

Responding to the UK Modern Slavery Act

In accordance with the Modern Slavery Act that came into force in the UK in 2015, we have released the following statement on slavery and human trafficking.

Link: Statement pertaining to the UK Modern Slavery Act

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