Cabinet Decision on Bill for Revision of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information

◆On March 10, 2020, the Cabinet approved the Bill for Partial Revision of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information and submitted it to the Diet.

◆The amended bill revises the provisions on retained personal data to include the fact that personal data to be deleted within a short period of time is retained personal data, that disclosure of retained personal data is implemented through the provision of electromagnetic records of the individual's choice, and that the right to suspend the use of such data may be exercised in the event of leakage or other circumstances. In addition, the act obligates the reporting to the Personal Information Protection Commission and notifications to individuals of certain leaks, stipulates the information that applies the category of personal data where information is provided (standards for recipients), and partially restricts the opt-out rules.

◆In addition, in order to facilitate the analysis of data, a provision on Pseudonymized data is newly established in which personal information is processed so that a specific individual cannot be identified unless collated with other information.

◆In addition, some penalties are strengthened, and corporations that commit violations are subject to fines of 100 million yen or less in certain cases.

◆The date of enforcement is set as the date specified by a Cabinet Order within two years from the date of promulgation. However, the provisions for penalties are to be enforced six months after the date of promulgation.