Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

“ウイグル人らに対する大規模監視および深刻な人権侵害を助長する日系企業の技術と責任” 18 Jan 2023
[ Japanese-to-English translation: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Edited & checked by Japan Uyghur Association and Cade Mosley, Human Rights Now]

Through the results of an investigation disassembling surveillance cameras of “Hikvision (Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology)”, a major Chinese surveillance camera company sanctioned by the US for its involvement in large-scale surveillance constituting a part of crimes against humanity against Turkic ethnic groups such as the Uyghurs in East Turkistan (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), [Japan Uyghur Association and Human Rights Now] have confirmed that several Japanese companies have supplied parts to the surveillance cameras.

As a result of this investigation, a questionnaire was sent to the companies asking them about their awareness of the problem and their future responses. Responses were received from six companies, except Micron Technology, Inc., most of which did not answer the questions and simply stated the company’s management policy. […]

Read more about the responses from the companies here. (*As of 19 January 2023)

1. 1. 1. ROHM Co., Ltd.
      2. TDK Corporation
      3. Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation
      4. THine Electronics, Inc.
      5. Sony Group Corporation
      6. Seiko Epson Corporation
      7. Micron Technology, Inc.: no response

Hikvision is the world’s top company in market share size for surveillance cameras, and the two companies Hikvision and Dahua Technology (Zhejiang Dahua Technology), another major surveillance camera company in China (which entered into Japan in October 2022) that was also sanctioned by the United States for being involved in the large-scale surveillance of Uyghurs, together are said to hold up to one-third of the world’s surveillance camera market share.

In addition, research by IPVM, one of the world’s leading research companies on security and video surveillance, has revealed that both of these companies have installed “functionality that can identify Uyghur faces” in some of their products.

China: New report says Japanese firms are supplying camera parts involved in mass surveillance in Xinjiang; incl. co. comments