Japan plans to amend its law and allow for inspections

Japan’s Cabinet decided on 10 March to amend the 2003 Act on the Protection of Personal Information. Dr. Hiroshi Miyashita, Associate Professor, Chuo University, Tokyo, informed PL&B that both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors of the Diet (Parliament) will examine this Bill in the coming months. The Bill seeks to establish an independent supervisory authority known as the “Personal Information Protection Commission” (Art. 59) for the entire private sector. The new Commission, consisting of the President and eight Commissioners, would have the power to conduct on-site inspections and to provide information to foreign Data Protection Authorities.

The Bill is available in Japanese

Asia-Pacific data protection legislative developments will be discussed in depth at Privacy Laws & Business’s Asia-Pacific Roundtable in London on 27 May. It will be led by Professor Graham Greenleaf, PL&B’s Asia-Pacific Editor, and hosted by Dentons. Countries to be covered: Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Australia, and the APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules.