Reform of the Personal Information Protection Act in Japan

On June 24, 2014, the Japanese government adopted a policy outline of the institutional revision for utilization of personal data, which was aimed at revision of the Act on Personal Information Protection of 2003 (Act 2003). It includes some ideas to promote big data businesses and thereby provide adequate personal data protection. As a result of numerous difficult discussions, the review meeting agreed to adopt a major revision to Act 2003. It was decided to establish third-party authority to manage the personal information policy. This extremely important step for Japan is expected to contribute to its economic renewal. Moreover, it reflects the overwhelming demands of people for protection of privacy in this era. We were able to ascertain the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration among the domains of technology, law, and business to provide solutions to new social problems.