Respect for Human Rights
The LY Corporation Group (the “Group”) is committed to supporting and respecting international human rights standards such as the “International Bill of Human Rights,” “ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work,” and “Children’s Rights and Business Principles” in its corporate activities. In October 2021, the Group established the LY Corporation Group Human Rights Policy to strengthen its commitment to respecting human rights of all those involved in its business activities. The Group actively engages in dialogue and collaboration with various stakeholders such as its employees, suppliers, customers, and local community to further drive these efforts.
LY Corporation Group Human Rights Policy
The mission of the LY Corporation Group is: “Create an amazing life platform that brings WOW! to our users.” Under this mission statement, the Group engages in diverse business activities involving various stakeholders, including users, business partners, and shareholders. Respect for human rights is considered a fundamental and indispensable value in conducting these activities. As the highest-level policy covering human rights throughout the Group’s business operations and its value chain, the Group has established the LY Corporation Group Human Rights Policy (the “Policy”). This Policy was formulated (or revised) with input from external experts in human rights, then reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors before being disclosed publicly. It applies to all executives and employees of the LY Corporation Group. Furthermore, the Group also encourages suppliers and other business partners to understand the Policy and incorporates human rights clauses into contracts with business partners, collaboratively promoting respect for human rights and undertaking initiatives across the entire value chain.
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Promotion Structure
Under the Sustainability Committee, which is chaired by the President and Representative Director, LY Corporation (the “Company”) has established the Human Rights Working Group. The persons responsible for human rights issues in the Group companies serve as members of the Working Group to identify and assess risks; formulate the response plans at each Group company as well as monitor the progress of such plans; and work to reduce risks and promote human rights due diligence.
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Human Rights Due Diligence
Human Rights Due Diligence Process
In accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, LY Corporation has established a human rights due diligence process to clarify, assess and identify, and mitigate and correct human rights issues that are at risk of adverse impacts due to the Company’s business activities.
Measures by Segment
Human Rights Assessment for the Company’s employees
Every year, the Company provides training and educational content for employees on human rights, with a focus on discrimination and harassment. The Company also provides all employees with information on the contact point for human rights violations, and in the event of a human rights violation, the Company deals with the case in a strict manner in accordance with its internal regulation. In 2024, the Company conducted a harassment survey targeting all employees who were affiliated with the Company at the time of the survey (permanent employees, contract employees, fixed-term employees, part-time employees, employees on secondment, and temporary staff). The Company will continue to strive to prevent human rights violations and respect the human rights of employees through regular training, surveys, and analysis.
Human Rights Assessment for Group companies
Since FY2021, as part of the human rights due diligence, the Company conducts surveys targeting Group companies to assess the status of business and human rights initiatives and the details of human rights risks. Beginning in FY2024, the Company started scoring the survey results and carried out follow-up surveys for companies whose previous-year results did not meet the standard. The survey revealed no manifest human rights impacts, and all surveyed companies surpassed the established criteria. Meanwhile, for continual issues such as compliance measures expected of business partners, the Company has taken individual approaches to identify and mitigate risks, working closely with each company to further strengthen business and human rights initiatives. Moving forward, the Company will continue to use this survey to comprehensively understand the Group's business and human rights efforts and work towards further improvement and enhancement.
Results of Human Rights Assessments
| Fiscal year | No. of target companies (Japan/overseas) |
No. of companies surveyed (Japan/overseas) |
Survey coverage | No. of companies requiring mitigation measures | Ratio of companies requiring mitigation measures | No. of companies to which mitigation measures were implemented | Ratio of implementation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 *1 | No. of target companies (Japan/overseas) : 5 (4/1) |
No. of companies surveyed (Japan/overseas) : 5 (4/1) |
Survey coverage : 100% | No. of companies requiring mitigation measures : 0 | Ratio of companies requiring mitigation measures : 0% | No. of companies to which mitigation measures were implemented : － | Ratio of implementation : － |
| FY2023 *2 | No. of target companies (Japan/overseas) : 53 (33/20) |
No. of companies surveyed (Japan/overseas) : 53 (33/20) |
Survey coverage : 100% | No. of companies requiring mitigation measures : 6 | Ratio of companies requiring mitigation measures : 11% | No. of companies to which mitigation measures were implemented : 6 | Ratio of implementation : 100% |
| FY2022 | No. of target companies (Japan/overseas) : 77 (48/29) |
No. of companies surveyed (Japan/overseas) : 77 (48/29) |
Survey coverage : 100% | No. of companies requiring mitigation measures : 0 | Ratio of companies requiring mitigation measures : 0% | No. of companies to which mitigation measures were implemented : － | Ratio of implementation : － |
*1 In FY2024, among the six companies that were subject to risk mitigation measures in FY2023, two were excluded from the scope due to business reorganizations or other factors, leaving four. Adding one new company to that group, the Company conducted the survey on a total of five companies (four in Japan, one overseas).
*2 The number of target companies for the assessments has fluctuated in between FY2022 to FY2023 due to the merger.
Identified Risks and Mitigation/corrective measures (FY2024)
| Outline of potential risks | Mitigation/corrective measures |
|---|---|
| ・Fundamental approach to human rights (Awareness of Human Rights-Related Laws ) |
Conducted hearings on the status of measures and implemented the following actions, alongside continuous monitoring: ・Sharing of educational and awareness-raising content ・Provision of response procedures and know-how at LY Corporation ・Consideration of specific countermeasures |
| ・Measures towards business partners, including the supply chain (Efforts to respect human rights, compliance with prohibitions on forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor) |
Human Rights Assessment for Suppliers
The LY Corporation Group stipulates the Basic Policy on Procurement in order to establish sustainable and fair business relationships. The Basic Policy on Procurement consists of nine items, including compliance with laws and regulations, offering fair opportunities for competition, rational selection of business partners and suppliers, rejection of relationships with antisocial forces, building mutual trust, CSR initiatives, environmental conservation, approaches to social problems, and respect for human rights. Furthermore, LY Corporation has introduced a new supplier management policy under the Basic Policy on Procurement from July 2024.
Supplier Survey Process
In principle, LY Corporation conducts a supplier survey in its procurement activities, targeting suppliers providing goods and services to the Company. The items included in this survey is determined from the viewpoints of anti-social behavior, anti-corruption, economic security, financial integrity, and ESG factors, including environmental concerns, human rights, prohibition of child labor, and compliance with labor and wage laws. In addition, for suppliers with whom business continues, the Company generally requests a similar survey every two years to keep information up to date on a regular basis.
Furthermore, when entering into outsourcing contracts with certain suppliers, the Company incorporates human rights compliance clauses, among other provisions, into these contracts as part of its efforts to promote respect for human rights through procurement activities. These clauses emphasize diversity, prohibit harassment, forbid forced and child labor, manage working hours and wages, respect freedom of association, uphold the right to collective bargaining, and ensure the safety and health of employees. Through such procurement activities, LY Corporation deepens engagement with suppliers, building cooperative partnerships that give due consideration to human rights.
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Grievance Mechanism
LY Corporation has established a consultation desk for all stakeholders involved (customers, suppliers, supply chain workers, employees, etc.) and has established a grievance mechanism to ensure that human rights issues related to its business activities are known and addressed. This includes the whistleblowing system for reporting violations of laws and regulations, including human rights issues such as discrimination and harassment, as well as compliance violations.
In order to ensure that whistleblowers can use the internal reporting system with peace of mind, the system allows for anonymous reporting, and any disadvantageous treatment, retaliation or investigation of whistleblowers is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, the confidentiality of the reported information is strictly maintained. Reports can be made 24 hours a day, and are accepted in multiple languages, including Japanese, English and Korean. An external law firm is one channel for receiving reports, and a mechanism is in place to improve the situation and prevent recurrence in the event that a violation of laws or compliance is discovered as a result of reports from officers, employees or business partners.
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Response to Customer Abuse
LY Corporation believes that ensuring a safe working environment for employees serves as a foundation for the sustainable delivery of its services. The Company has created “LY Corporation’s Response to Customer Abuse,” recognizing that not only maintaining good relationships with valued customers but also protecting employees from abusive language and excessive demands is essential for creating a workplace where employees can work securely and provide better services.
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Specific Human Rights Initiatives
For Employees
To raise employee awareness and promote human rights due diligence, LY Corporation regularly provides educational materials and holds seminars tailored to the characteristics of its business, such as AI and human rights. In FY2024, the Group conducted a total of five human rights seminars for employees of LY Corporation and major Group companies to deepen participants’ knowledge of the latest human rights issues. These seminars were designed to promote a broad understanding of the latest developments in human rights issues within the digital society—covering topics such as “Generative AI and Human Rights,” “Media and Human Rights,” and “Environment and Human Rights”—and to help mitigate human rights risks throughout the Group.
Human Rights Training Record (FY2024)
| Date | Training title | Speaker | Training type |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 25, 2024 | Human Rights Seminar:“Business and Human Rights” (Latest Trends and Response Strategies for Human Rights Issues) |
Ayumi YAMORI (Principal, Owls Consulting Group, Inc.) |
Online Training |
| December 18, 2024 | Online Training (Recorded Session) | ||
| January 24, 2025 | |||
| February 19, 2025 | |||
| March 14, 2025 |
For Customers
Initiatives in LY Corporation’s Media Services
LY Corporation believes that respecting human rights is crucial in media services. This commitment is clearly stated in LY Corporation’s “Commitment in Its Media Services,“ and the Company strives to provide appropriate information to realize this commitment.
For Children
LY Corporation prioritizes the protection of children's privacy and provides educational content related to the use of internet services. Additionally, the Company strives to create a safe online environment for children by enhancing filtering functions and promoting information ethics education.
Leveraging the characteristics of internet media, the Company undertakes initiatives related to children’s human rights. In 2019, in collaboration with the Japan Committee for UNICEF, the Company invited children to post their comments on a special page, the "Children's Public Comments," to reflect children’s voices in an action plan to end violence against children, which was being developed by government ministries, agencies, and NPOs. Furthermore, in partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, it has introduced features in the search function of Yahoo! JAPAN Kids to address children's human rights violations, such as bullying.
Since the 2023 Human Rights Day, the Company made information regarding human rights available on Yahoo! JAPAN Kids, geared towards children. Yahoo! JAPAN Kids widely disseminates information on human rights to children and introduces related videos.