Nintendo Denies Allegations Of Forced Labor In Its Factories

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Nintendo has denied allegations that it uses any of the factories in China recently accused of using forced labor.

Nintendo has been answering all sorts of questions this week, including its continued silence over whether a Switch Pro is coming or not. However, one of the more serious issues raised during Nintendo's general meeting of shareholders were the allegations made concerning forced labor. Nintendo was one of a number of companies made following an investigation into the use of forced labor in Chinese factories.

"We are aware that there was a report that Uyghurs may have been forced to work in the factories of our supply chain," Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated during a Q&A. Uyghurs are a minority group in China and the investigation in question alleges they are being taken from re-education camps and placed into factories against their will.

The investigation has made headlines in major publications worldwide, including The Washington Post and BBC. The research was conducted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) which names companies like Nike and Apple in its allegations. It does note that some of the companies may have been involved unknowingly. That the factory owners are the ones making the decisions and companies like Nintendo use them without knowing what is happening behind the scenes.

"We have investigated the factory pointed out in the report, we could not find any record that it is our business partner, nor have we received any reports of forced labor in our supply chain," Furukawa went on to explain. "We conduct our business under the policy that if there is any actual or serious risk of forced labor, not only for Uyghurs, we will stop doing business with them."

The ASPI stated in its research that as many as 82 companies based in China and around the world are potentially connected with its forced labor discoveries in Chinese factories. Again, many of those companies may not know the conditions in which people making their products are apparently being made to work. If so, it is up to those companies to do what Nintendo claims to have done and conduct an investigation of its own to make sure all is well.