In this March 29, 2021 file photo, visitors to a shopping mall wearing masks stand before a Uniqlo store in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Fast Retailing Co. said Friday it will "cooperate fully" with the French authorities over their probe into allegations that its Uniqlo unit and three other fashion retailers concealed crimes against humanity in China's Xinjiang region.

       The Japanese fashion giant made its stance clear after French media reported Uniqlo France, Zara operator Spanish Inditex, Skechers USA Inc. and France's SMCP face allegations that their production process involves the forced labor of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, reports said.

       The Uniqlo casual clothing chain operator said it will cooperate with the probe, if and when notified, to "reaffirm there is no forced labor in our supply chains." The company said while it is aware of the media reports, it has not yet been contacted by the French authorities.

       The investigation was opened after a complaint was filed in April by organizations including a human rights group saying that the four companies were allegedly benefiting from forced labor of the Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region, according to media reports.

       Fast Retailing has said it has no contracts with sewing factories in Xinjiang, while audits by the company and a third party have found no forced labor in its related factories in any country or region.

       Fast Retailing Chairman and CEO Tadashi Yanai said in April his company is keeping an eye on its cotton supply chain to ensure none of its products are made with forced labor in China's far-western region.

       He said his company would immediately halt business with suppliers if such a problem is found, but declined further comment on human rights issues related to the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, saying he wants to be "politically neutral" in operating his business.

       It became known in May that U.S. Customs and Border Protection blocked a shipment of men's shirts for the Uniqlo chain in January for allegedly violating an import ban on items containing cotton sourced from Xinjiang.

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0