Japan Urged to Adopt Law to Counter Uyghur Forced Labor

Uyghur Times | March 5, 2026

Lawmakers and Uyghur activists gathered in Tokyo on February 25 at an event hosted by the Japan Uyghur Association to discuss the Chinese government’s ongoing human rights abuses in the Uyghur region and the need for stronger international measures against forced labor.

Keiji Furuya, a senior member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and chair of the Japan Uyghur Parliamentary Association, said Japan should send “a big message to the world” regarding China’s treatment of Uyghurs. He noted that the parliamentary group plans to draft legislation modeled after the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act adopted by the United States.

In a February 18 letter, Human Rights Watch urged Japan to introduce import restrictions targeting goods linked to state-imposed forced labor. The organization said such measures would increase pressure on the Chinese government to end abusive labor practices in Xinjiang and elsewhere.

Human Rights Watch also recommended that Japanese companies importing goods from high-risk regions should be required to prove that their products are not produced through forced labor.

World Uyghur Congress reported that On 25 February, a major international symposium under the theme “China’s Ethnic Regional Autonomy System and the Reality of Uyghur Genocide” was held in Tokyo, organized by the Japan Uyghur Association and co-sponsored by the World Uyghur Congress and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.

Zumretay Erkin, the vice president of World Uyghur Congress said:”what is happening in East Turkistan is not distant — it is embedded in global supply chains, present in everyday products, linked to exported surveillance technologies, and felt by Uyghur families living in Japan. This is not only a humanitarian crisis, but also a matter of national security and regional stability.”

According to rights groups, since 2016 Chinese authorities have detained up to millions of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in political “reeducation” camps and imprisoned hundreds of thousands more without due process. Many have been subjected to torture, mass surveillance, family separation, and forced labor.

Forced labor programs in Uyghur region affect global supply chains in sectors such as automotive manufacturing, solar panels, apparel, seafood, agriculture, and critical minerals.

Japan has previously raised concerns about China’s human rights record, including during the 2024 review of China at the United Nations Human Rights Council and in a 2025 meeting with Xi Jinping.

Human rights advocates say stronger import controls and corporate accountability laws are necessary to ensure that global markets do not benefit from forced labor.