January 15, 2025
Joint statement:
SOMPO becomes Japan’s first non-life insurer to adopt a policy respecting indigenous peoples’ rights including FPIC. We urge Tokio Marine and MS&AD to follow SOMPO!
Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES)
Friends of the Earth Japan
Mekong Watch
Rainforest Action Network
On January 10, SOMPO Holdings, Inc. (hereinafter “SOMPO”), one of Japan’s major non-life insurers, updated its policy on Building ESG Considerations. The revised policy now classifies businesses that may violate the human rights of indigenous peoples under its list of Sensitive Projects and Sectors, and references international standards, including Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) (*1), making it the first Japanese non-life insurer to recognize FPIC in its underwriting, investment, and financing decisions. We welcome this policy update of SOMPO and urge other Japanese insurers, Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. (“Tokio Marine”) and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. (“MS&AD”) to promptly follow SOMPO in developing policies that respect indigenous peoples’ rights.
FPIC, as outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, guarantees indigenous communities the right to participate in decision-making and to either consent to or reject projects that may affect their communities and lands. FPIC also ensures that indigenous peoples can engage in negotiations throughout all stages of project planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation (*2).
SOMPO has been identified as an underwriter for NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project, an LNG project that has proceeded without obtaining FPIC from the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas (*3). The project has faced strong opposition from the Tribe, as well as local communities, environmental NGOs, and local governments due to inadequate assessments of adverse impacts on the society and the environment. In August 2024, the D.C. Circuit Court issued a decision that effectively cancelled the previous approval of the construction and operations of the LNG project, marking a major victory for community members and their allies (*4). Additionally, in October 2024, a delegation from the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe and local communities traveled to Japan to urge SOMPO and other financial institutions supporting Rio Grande LNG to withdraw from the project (*5).
As a new fossil fuel project, the Rio Grande LNG project is incompatible with the 1.5°C degree goals of the Paris Agreement and should not move forward. With the updated policy, SOMPO now must verify whether the project operator has obtained FPIC from affected indigenous communities and immediately withdraw its support if FPIC has not been secured. We also strongly call on Tokio Marine and MS&AD to promptly adopt policies that respect indigenous rights, including FPIC.
Contact:
Japan Center for Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES)
- Yuki Tanabe tanabe@jacses.org
- Marika Kita kita@jacses.org
Notes:
- https://www.sompo-hd.com/en/csr/esg/product/
- https://www.ran.org/press-releases/axis-capital-becomes-first-north-american-insurer-to-adopt-policy-on-free-prior-and-informed-consent/
- https://jacses.org/en/434/
- https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2024/08/dc-circuit-rules-against-ferc-approval-lng-and-pipeline-projects-south-texas
- https://www.ran.org/press-releases/rgv-lng-delegation-to-japan/
