About-English

Message from Our Managing Director

It is a great honor to serve as the managing director of the Association.

I became acquainted with privacy in 1960, before the privacy infringement lawsuit was filed in Japan in 1961. I’ve been with my friend privacy for about 60 years.

I am perhaps the only person in this world who has had such an experience for a long period of time. With this experience, I have been taking part in the legislative process of all personal information protection laws at the national level in Japan.

On January 1, 2014, I was appointed as the Chairman of the Specific Personal Information Protection Commission, Japan’s first independent supervisory agency, continuing as Chairman when the Commission reorganized as the Personal Information Protection Commission on January 1, 2016. I completed the statutory term of five years on December 31, 2018.

Leading an administrative agency for 5 years, albeit small, was a very valuable experience in my nearly 60 year career as a researcher, and I am now determined to leverage that experience to fulfill my responsibilities as the managing director.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Masao HORIBE

Objectives of the establishment of Japan DPO Association

In addition to the Act on the Protection of Personal Information in Japan, Japanese companies are required to comply with the applicable privacy and data protection laws of foreign jurisdictions when developing their business overseas. Privacy and data protection are not merely a matter of legal compliance, but they are also essential for building trust with consumers, employees and regulators in the countries where they do business. In addition, in light of the innovations, complexity, and uncertainties brought about by rapidly evolving technologies, there are increasing demands for companies to consider not only laws and regulations but also ethics when they design and use their technologies.

Under such circumstances, through monitoring the development of privacy and data protection laws around the world, including GDPR in Europe, collection and analysis of operational trends, acquisition and dissemination of practical and specialized knowledge, and case-study on data breaches, etc., we need to develop experts who can become Data Protection Officers (DPOs) and/or play a central role in privacy and data protection space, to strengthen and improve the entire privacy protection scheme of member companies. In order to contribute to the realization of a sustainable digital society and the active involvement of companies in its constituency, this association aims to be organized as an all-Japan initiative, supported by a wide range of participating companies, practitioners and other concerned parties, functioning together as one team.

Activities of Japan DPO Association

We will cross-educate and foster experts who respond to privacy protection legislation, actively exchange knowledge and share information on privacy and DPOs, and will consequently ensure privacy and data protection of Japanese companies including compliance with GDPR. The following objectives will be pursued with the aim of further improving the international competitiveness of Japanese companies and realizing a healthy and sustainable digital society through building trust in the business of Japanese companies.

(1)  Collect, analyze and provision information on overseas privacy protection laws such as GDPR and comparison with the Japan law.

(2)  Provide practical knowledge and expertise required for DPOs and those who support and assist DPOs

(3)  Network with member organizations, other privacy organizations, and regulatory authorities in Japan and overseas

(4)  Hold seminars, lectures, workshops, etc.

(5)  Compose working parties in specific fields such as law, IT and business practices

(6)  Submit of public comments

(7)  Share legal, IT, and business information

(8)  Provide intensive discussion at workshops and training camps

(9)  Develop a certification scheme for individuals to demonstrate the capability in the global privacy protection field.

(10) Organize activities such as social gatherings

(11) Engage in any matters related to the preceding objectives