The social goal of all-encompassing harmony also applies to Japanese businesses. Business decisions are generally reached through an extended consultation process that involves employees at all levels and, increasingly, stakeholders from outside the company. The goal is to reach consensus. Unions play a relatively small role and are usually organized at the company level.
A similar principle applies to political decisions. There is intensive dialogue between employers’ associations and the government at all levels. The involvement of NGOs is still in its infancy as compared with other developed economies. This is also because Japanese NGOs – unlike their western counterparts – prefer to avoid confrontation and refrain from exerting pressure on businesses. In recent years, however, NGOs have gained in importance and play a more prominent role in the decision-making process.
A survey by Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) in 2005 showed that 75% of all major Japanese companies have CSR committees, and 80% issue reports on their CSR activities. International environmental standards such as ISO 14001 play an important role in the CSR efforts of Japanese companies. Japan ranks number one in terms of ISO 14001 certifications, significantly ahead of the Western industrialized countries. Japanese companies prefer to focus on areas in which their contributions can be statistically measured; interest in social aspects of CSR is significantly less pronounced than in other industrialized countries. This can be explained by the fact that the effect of such efforts on company earnings is unclear, and that little pressure is exerted by stakeholders, particularly NGOs, the public and investors.