At Nintendo’s latest shareholder meeting, President Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about a 2020 report which listed one of the company’s factories as having used forced Uighur labor. The report, initially released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, states that tens of thousands of members of the Uighur ethnic minority group were being forced to work for global supply chains worldwide. This report implicates companies such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. It goes on to say that these companies “could find themselves in breach of laws which prohibit the importation of goods made with forced labor or mandate disclosure of forced labor supply chain risks.”

The unfortunate reality is that forced labor is all too common in certain parts of the world. What’s worse is that much of this labor often goes unreported, which is why reports such as this one are so vitally important in raising awareness. The idea that the gaming consoles and mobile devices enjoyed by so many could have come at the expense of an oppressed group of people is truly sobering.

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According to Kotaku, Furukawa wasted no time addressing the question. He stated that not only is Nintendo aware of the report but that the company has already looked into the factory it identifies. This level of proactivity is unsurprising considering Nintendo’s dedication to keeping its public image as wholesome as possible. According to Nintendo’s records, the factory–Dongguan Yidong Electronic Co. Ltd.–is not actually affiliated with Nintendo in any way and therefore does not provide any of its supplies. The report also implicates a Foxconn facility, and while Foxconn has partnered with Nintendo in the past, it is not yet known whether any forced labor was involved on those occasions.

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Furukawa went on to make a salient point. After reiterating that Nintendo was never informed of any forced labor, he asked, “…do factories that are violating human rights tell others what’s going on? Also, how much do companies really know what’s going on in their partners’ factories?” While it may come across as though Furukawa said this to safeguard Nintendo against any future revelations, his point remains valid. However, perhaps the lesson to take away from this sentiment is not that companies shouldn't be held accountable for what goes on their supply chains, but rather that there needs to be more transparency and accountability between companies and the factories that supply them.

Furukawa also added that Nintendo has specific guidelines that it requires its partners to comply with. These requirements naturally include Nintendo’s policy and stance against forced labor and allows it to immediately terminate dealings with companies that employ it. This applies to Nintendo apparel as well. However, when taking into account his point regarding how transparent factories are about their employees, these guidelines may be nothing but a formality. Until inspections, investigations, and reports such as the ASPI’s are made routine, there will always be the chance that forced labor is abundant wherever goods are mass-produced. Luckily, a greater focus on it through studies and media reporting will only serve to draw more attention to it, as was done in this case with Nintendo.

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Source: Kotaku