Human rights promotion and
protection activities in Japan

In Japan, human rights systems and policies have been established and developed within the national government under the Constitution, which sets the respect for fundamental human rights as one of its basic principles, as well as international rules including human rights conventions drafted by the United Nations.

In addition, community-based human rights promotion and protection activities have been carried out under the cooperation of the national government, local governments and volunteers such as Human Rights Volunteers. Due to such efforts, the ideal of respecting human rights have been widely acknowledged and a society where human rights are respected has been developed.

Human rights issues have continuously occurred. The human rights bodies of the Ministry of Justice provide human rights counseling, investigate and resolve human rights violation cases, and conduct human rights awareness-raising activities aiming for the protection of fundamental human rights.