As a responsible corporate citizen, the Dentsu Group considers it essential for every employee to have the deepest respect for human rights and properly understand human rights issues. To this end, we have established three principles: (1) we have zero tolerance for discriminatory language in advertising or communications activities, (2) respect for human rights must serve as the basis for social existence and be paramount to communications, and (3) the objective of human rights education is to effect proper judgment between freedom of expression and discrimination.

Consequently, in 1987 we established the Educational Committee on Human Rights to provide education for our employees and to pursue activities related to human rights. At the same time, we created a specialized department to consider the relationship between advertising expressions and human rights. We believe that promoting activities that incorporate a human rights perspective enriches advertising communications, and we have extended these initiatives throughout the Dentsu Group.

Part of our responsibility is to be actively aware of these issues by exchanging information with human rights organizations and training our personnel. We share our information throughout the advertising industry via human rights awareness activities, seminars and other events held by the Japan Advertising Agencies Association (JAAA). We are also dedicated to promoting respect for human rights locally by conducting seminars in compliance with requests from local governments, research and educational associations and corporations. As part of our in-house educational activities, Dentsu solicits human rights slogans from employees and their families to produce human rights posters for competition, an activity that has continued for many years. Local governments often ask to use these posters, which are exhibited at events promoting human rights in various parts of Japan.

Production of Human Rights Posters

In 2007, the following three posters were produced using selected human rights slogans. During Human Rights Week in December 2007, the posters were put up in all Group companies linking them to our Group-wide human rights awareness activities.

How do you judge a person by his birthplace?

Creating a society where barrier-free is not a sales point.

A child said his own home is the most frightening place.