Human Rights

• Human Rights Policy
• Governance Structure for Ensuring Respect for Human Rights
• Human Rights Due Diligence
• Initiatives to Prevent and Mitigate Negative Human Rights Impacts
• Human Rights Consultation and Reporting Channels

Human Rights Policy

SMK Group Basic Policy on Respect for Human Rights

SMK Group respects human rights as a corporate social responsibility and is committed to its implementation as a company engaged in transnational business activities.

We recognize the impact of our business activities on human rights and comply with the labor laws of each country. We support and respect international norms related to human rights, such as "the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," "the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work," "the United Nations Global Compact," and "the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights."

We also expect human rights to be respected across our stakeholders.

Issued in April 2025
Established in April 2025

SMK Group Charter for Corporate Behavior (Excerpt)

Article 5

We will strive to make it possible for employees to lead pleasant and enriched lives, by guaranteeing a comfortable and safe work environment and respecting our employees' dignity and individuality.

Article 8

In overseas operations, we will comply with the laws and regulations of the countries and regions, respect human rights and other international norms, and manage ourselves in a manner that contributes to local development.

SMK Group Employee Code of Conduct (Excerpt)

Article 2. Human Rights and Labor

• Prohibition of Forced Labor
• Prohibition of Child Labor
• Respect for Human Rights
• Prohibition of Discriminations
• Compliance with Employment Regulations
• Working Hours and Wage
• Freedom of Association and Respect for Collective Bargaining Rights

Governance Structure for Ensuring Respect for Human Rights

SMK has established the CSR/Sustainability Committee, chaired by the President, under the Board of Directors and the Executive Officers Meeting. Below this committee, the Labor/Human Rights Committee, chaired by the Executive Officer in charge of HR, promotes labor compliance, including respect for human rights, as well as occupational health and safety activities. The Labor/Human Rights Committee also oversees the Occupational Safety and Health Committees at each site. When issues arise, the Labor/Human Rights Committee addresses them and ensures information sharing across the company.
These activities are reported and discussed at the CSR/Sustainability Committee, with the Board of Directors overseeing these efforts.

Human Rights Due Diligence

Based on the “Responsible Business Conduct Guidelines” provided by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), SMK Group conducts human rights due diligence annually across all group sites.

We identified nine items as potential negative impacts: (1) Forced labor, (2) Child labor and consideration for young workers, (3) Working hours, (4) Wages, (5) Inhumane treatment, (6) Discrimination (specifically targeting race, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, disability, pregnancy, religion, political views, etc.), (7) Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, (8) Occupational safety, and (9) Worker health.

If there are human rights risks or negative impacts related to our business activities, we discuss the issues, take actions to prevent and mitigate them, and conduct annual monitoring to continuously assess the effectiveness of our measures. We report these activities on our website and in our Integrated Report, and also share them in the Labor/Human Rights Committee.

Improvement Measures from Human Rights Due Diligence in FY2023

Example 1:

For sites where disaster response procedures were not clearly defined, we developed and established a formal response protocol.

Example 2:

For sites where the method of recording work-related accidents was unclear, we established a standardized process.

Example 3:

We reviewed the scope of personal data collected during recruitment to ensure compliance with local laws.

Initiatives to Prevent and Mitigate Negative Human Rights Impacts

Preventing Human Rights Violations Against Employees

SMK Group is committed to creating a proper working environment to eliminate human rights risks such as harassment, child and forced labor, and excessive working hours. We also promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that discrimination based on race, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, disability, pregnancy, religion, or political views does not occur.

As part of our measures to prevent harassment and human rights violations, we have established an Ethics Helpline with both internal and external contact points, with the latter also supporting anonymous reporting. This system allows employees to report incidents of harassment or misconduct, and we take corrective actions to address and remedy human rights violations.

Initiatives in Overseas Subsidiaries

While respecting local customs and cultures, we adhere to the rules that the international community must follow and conduct evaluations and monitoring to prevent any human rights violations. We have established guidelines to prevent such issues during recruitment, including making the inclusion of photographs on resumes optional, and ensure their strict implementation across all subsidiaries.

Initiatives in the Supply Chain

We strive to build a supply chain that understands our policies and can work together towards a sustainable society.
Specifically, we have established the SMK Supply Chain CSR Guidelines and request our suppliers to submit an agreement to these guidelines.

Human Rights-related Items in the SMK Supply Chain CSR Guidelines

• Employment based on free will
• Prohibition of child labor and consideration of young workers
• Working hours
• Wages and benefits
• Humane treatment
• Removal of discrimination and harassment
• Freedom of association

Furthermore, starting from FY2024, we have been conducting a biennial survey on CSR promotion systems with approximately 200 significant suppliers to maintain and improve our supply chain CSR efforts.

For more details, please refer to the Supply Chain page.

Human Rights-Conscious Work Practices

Employment of Persons with Disabilities

At our sites in Japan, we hire persons with disabilities in line with the legally mandated employment rate. We promote diverse workstyles, including roles focused on factory and warehouse operations, as well as remote work opportunities in areas such as design and marketing.

Support for Non-Japanese Employees

We actively hire and promote employees regardless of nationality. To create an inclusive work environment, we have adopted English and Chinese as official languages alongside Japanese and implemented a unified grading system. We also accommodate religious customs and provide employment contracts in employees' native languages.

Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement

We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive organization. Since the 1970s, we have considered the promotion of women’s employment and empowerment as one of the key management issues. Our efforts focus not only on providing systems to support work-life balance, such as child-rearing, but also on creating an environment where female employees can fully utilize their abilities and promoting awareness reform within the company.
Under the action plan set forth in accordance with the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, which came into effect on April 1, 2016, SMK has focused on strengthening recruitment of women, exploring flexible work styles that allow both men and women to thrive, and developing female leadership candidates as key objectives. We have implemented initiatives such as a selection system and training programs for female employees. Currently, the proportion of female managers at our Japan sites is just under 10%, which is relatively high for the electronic component manufacturing industry. We will continue to strengthen these efforts going forward.

Various Systems

SMK has introduced various systems, such as parental leave, to promote work practices that respect human rights. For more details, please refer to the Human Capital page.

Human Rights Education

We conduct employee education on human rights based on our Code of Conduct. Through case studies of violation examples, we focus on understanding and raising awareness of discrimination and harassment. By studying these cases, specific issues can be visualized, helping us improve the working environment.

Engagement with Local Communities on Human Rights

At each site, we are engaged in activities that promote respect for human rights in collaboration with local communities. Specifically, we are involved in initiatives such as supporting single-parent families and running a children's cafeteria once a month.

Human Rights Consultation and Reporting Channels

SMK operates businesses around the world. It is necessary to reduce and prevent negative impacts on human rights and strengthen our efforts to respect human rights, based on an understanding of the circumstances and opinions of each country and region. To achieve this, we have established the Ethics Helpline as an internal reporting channel.

"SMK Ethics Helpline" for All Group Employees

We have set up the Ethics Helpline to receive consultations, opinions, and reports related to human rights violations from all employees.

Harassment Consultation Hotline for Employees in Japan

In Japan, we have established the Harassment Consultation Hotline to receive consultations and opinions related to harassment and other human rights violations from all domestic employees and provide support.