TOKYO/WASHINGTON -- From solar panel producers to apparel retail giant Uniqlo, Japanese businesses increasingly fear a backlash over potential human rights violations at their indirect partners as the U.S. renews its warning against companies linked to forced-labor allegations in China's Xinjiang region.
American businesses that fail to exit supply chains, ventures and investment in Xinjiang "run a high risk of violating U.S. law," the State Department and five other agencies warned in an updated advisory Tuesday, hinting that even indirect links to rights violations against the Uyghur ethnic minority in the region could bring penalties.