Opinion Concerning the Amendment of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information
March 18, 2025
Japan Federation of Bar Associations
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (the "JFBA") compiled its "Opinion Concerning the Amendment of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information" dated March 18, 2025, and submitted it on March 27, 2025 to the Prime Minister, the House of Representatives Cabinet Committee, the House of Councillors Committee on Cabinet, and the President of the House of Councilors, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission.
Summary of Opinion
The JFBA expresses the following opinions concerning the amendment of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information.
1. Clearly state the guaranteeing of people’s right to make decisions for themselves regarding the handling of information about themselves (right to informational self-determination) under Article 1 (Purpose) of the Act as a core right and interest to be given consideration in interpreting the Act.
2. Expand the protection of identifiable information that is not personal information but can be traced back to the individual.
3. Clearly state that the purpose of use must be legitimate.
4. Establish a provision regarding the requirement for valid consent and the withdrawal of consent.
5. Establish a clause to set exceptions that make the consent of the individual unnecessary in appropriate cases where the necessity of using an individual’s personal information outweighs the degree of the disadvantage suffered by the individual as a result of use of such information even though, in principle, the handling of personal information requires the individual’s consent.
6. Regulate inferring special care-required personal information through profiling in the same way as regulations for obtaining such information.
7. Establish particularly strict regulations on the handling of biometric data.
8. Establish more effective opt-out regulations with sufficient supervision provided by the Personal Information Protection Commission.
9. Establish clear regulations with regard to protecting children’s personal and other types of information from the perspective of protecting children.