Privacy Policy

Special Notes for the users in the EEA (European Economic Area) member countries and United Kingdom

1. BASIC POLICY

Personal information has generally come to be stored in and processed by computers in recent years due to the rapid advance of information technologies. Because such information can be easily reproduced and transmitted using the Internet, it has sometimes been misused. Informatization has thus not only made life more convenient but has also raised concerns about infringements of personal rights and interests.
In the light of the need to protect privacy, the Japan Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the "JF") takes utmost care in handling personal information, taking appropriate measures in the gathering, use, and storage of such information in accordance with the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Act No. 57 of May 30, 2003).

Act on the Protection of Personal Information

Outline of the Privacy Protection Law

Definition

"Personal information" is defined as information, such as name and birthdate, about living persons that can be used to identify a specific individual (including such information as will allow easy reference to other information and will thereby enable the identification of the specific individual).
Information covered by the law

(1)Of such information the law applies to that meeting the following two criteria: Information prepared or acquired by employees of an incorporated administrative agency as necessary to conduct their activities; and
(2)Personal information in the possession of an incorporated administrative agency for internal use by employees.

Collection of personal information

In collecting personal information, the incorporated administrative agency is required to

(1)Not acquire information through deceit or other improper methods;
(2)Limit such activities to only such cases where necessary to carry out its legally established activities; and
(3)Elucidate, in principle, the purpose for which such information is to be used when it is acquired directly and in writing from an individual.

Use and management of personal information

Regarding the personal information in its possession, the incorporated administrative agency is required to:

(1)Undertake proper management so as to prevent its leakage, loss, or damage; and
(2)Secure its accuracy within the scope necessary for the purpose of use.
(3)Not use the said personal information in any manner which has a possibility of encouraging or inducing an illegal or unjust act.

The provision and use of this information should be within the scope of the intended purpose of use.

Request for disclosure and correct usage

Regarding the personal information in its possession, the incorporated administrative agency is required to:
Of personal information possessed by an incorporated administrative agency, individuals may request the disclosure of that pertaining to him- or herself. If, after such a disclosure, errors are found, the law stipulates that the individual may seek a correction of that information or the suspension of its use.

2 PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The JF has established a set of rules and regulations on the proper internal management of personal information collected in accordance with legal stipulations (in Japanese).

Privacy Protection Regulations of the Japan Foundation (in Japanese) (PDF:319KB)

3 REGISTER OF PERSONAL INFORMATION FILES (in Japanese)

4 REQUEST FOR DISCLOSURE

As stipulated in the "Act on the Protection of Personal Information" Article 78 concerning the legal obligation of independent administration institutions to disclose personal information in their possession, the JF will, in principle, disclose such information about a person when requested to do so by that person him- or herself (excluding information that may infringe upon the rights or interests of third parties or which the person already has access to through legal means or by common practice). In case the person concerned is a minor or is under guardianship, that person's legal representative or privately appointed agent may request the disclosure on the person's behalf.

Please note that requests for disclosure can be made only by oneself, one's legal representative, or one's privately appointed agent.

Information that May Be Requested
A disclosure request may be made of information in the possession of the JF (document, drawing, or electronically stored data prepared or acquired by a JF employee for internal use) that pertains to the person making the request.

Act on the Protection of Personal Information

Making a Request

Disclosure requests may be made at the privacy protection counters of the JF Headquarters, Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute Urawa, and Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute Kansai.

Headquarters: Information Disclosure Office, General Affairs Div, General Affairs Dept.
1-6-4 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004, Japan
Tel: 03-55369-6081 / Fax: 03-5369-6031
E-mail: jhkk＠jpf.go.jp
(When sending an email, please replace the full-width "＠" character with a half-width character.)
Access Map
Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa: Privacy Protection Desk, General Affairs Div.
5-6-36 Kita Urawa, Urawa-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama-ken. 330-0074, Japan
Tel: 048-834-1181 / Fax: 048-834-1170
Access Map
Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai: Privacy Protection Desk, General Affairs Div.
3-14 Rinku Port Kita, Tajiri-cho, Sennan-gun, Osaka 598-0093, Japan
Tel: 0724-90-2601 / Fax: 0724-90-2801
Access Map

*Hours
Weekdays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m.)
Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays and during the yearend and New Year break
*Overseas Residents
Disclosure requests are not accepted at overseas JF offices. Overseas residents seeking disclosure are asked to contact the Information Disclosure Office of JF Headquarters.

Application Procedures

Disclosures will be made only of the personal information about the individual submitting the request. For this reason, applicants must present or mail the “Disclosure Request Form“ with a copy of personal identification, such as a driver's license, health insurance certificate, basic resident register card, residence card, special permanent resident certificate or other documents issued under prescribed law. Please refer to the Disclosure Request Form for more information.

The fee for processing the request is 300 yen. Please pay this amount when making a disclosure request, either at the privacy protection desk or by bank transfer to the following account (the transfer fee must be borne by the applicant).

Disclosure Request Fee Account
Bank: Mizuho Bank
Account number/type: Shinbashi Branch, 8036602 (ordinary deposit account)

Account holder: (Kokusai koryu kikin joho kokai guchi)

Notification of (Non)Disclosure

Decisions regarding the (non)disclosure of information will be made in accordance with the Screening Standards for Action Based on the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (in Japanese) and processed within, in principle, 30 days of the request. The decision will be notified in writing. Should the decision require more than 30 days due to processing difficulties, notification of the extension, along with the period of the extension, will be made.

Making the Disclosure

Those receiving a disclosure notification should select a specific disclosure method from among those cited in the disclosure method application form accompanying the notification, fill out all necessary items, and either submit it to the privacy protection desk or mail it back within 30 days.
The disclosure method can also be identified in advance when submitting the Disclosure Request Form.
Those wishing to receive a copy of the information by postal mail should either send postage stamps along with the original request or the disclosure method application form or transfer the appropriate amount to the JF bank account.
For details, see Instructions on Disclosure Methods (in Japanese).

Disclosure Methods (in Japanese)(PDF:127KB)

5 REQUESTING CORRECTION OR SUSPENSION OF USE

The person making a disclosure request on information about him- or herself in the possession of the JF may request a correction of that information if he or she deems it to be contrary to fact. When such information is believed to have been collected in an illegal way or when it is being used or provided in violation of the provisions of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, the person may request that the use of such personal information be terminated or request its deletion.

Procedures for Correction or Suspension of the Use of Information

Fill out the prescribed Correction Request Form (in Japanese) or the Suspension of Use Request Form (in Japanese) as necessary and either submit or mail it to the privacy protection desk. Such requests are accepted for a period of up to 90 days following the disclosure of personal information.

Notification of Correction/Suspension of Use Decision

Decisions on whether to correct or suspend the use of personal information upon the receipt of a request will be made in accordance with the Screening Standards for Action Based on the Act on the Protection of Personal Information. In principle, the decision will be made within 30 days, and the applicant will be notified in writing. Should the decision require more time due to processing difficulties, applicants will be notified of the extension of the notification period.

6 FILING AN OBJECTION

If there are objections to the decisions made regarding information disclosure or action on correction or suspension of use, individuals may petition the JF to seek redress in compliance with the Administrative Appeal Law (Law. No.160 of 1962) within 60 days from the following day when interested parties acknowledge the existence of the decisions. In case that individuals file a lawsuit to request withdrawal of the decisions, such party may file a case against the JF for withdrawal of the decisions in compliance with Administrative Case Litigation Law (Law No.139 of 1962) within 6 months from the day when the interested party acknowledges the existence of the decisions.

7 RELEVANT LAWS AND REGULATIONS (in Japanese)

Privacy Policy

The Japan Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the “JF”) shall comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) and other applicable national laws (“applicable laws”) in connection with the provision of any of the services that the JF provides (the “Services”) to users (the “Users”) in the European Economic Area (the “EEA”, and the countries that are members of the EEA are individually or collectively referred to as “EEA member countries”) and United Kingdom, and therefore hereby establishes this Privacy Policy (this “Privacy Policy”) in order to appropriately process the personal data and other data of Users in the EEA and United Kingdom.

1. Processing Personal data, etc.

(1)Definitions

“Personal data” means any data relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, including, without limitation, names, addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and any other information collected in connection with providing the Services. Mandatory data is indicated when you provide us with your data. They are marked with an asterisk and are necessary to provide you with our services.

“Processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data, etc. or on sets of personal data, etc., whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.
(2)Legal basis for processing personal data
JF will process Users' personal data on the following legal bases in accordance with Article 6 of the GDPR:
1. (a)Performance of a contract – When the processing is necessary to provide the Services to Users.
2. (b)Legal obligations – When the JF will have to comply with a legal obligation, such as the retention of certain data for tax or accounting reasons.
3. (c)Legitimate Interest – Where the processing is necessary to improve the Services.
4. (d)Consent – When Users give their explicit consent for certain processing operations.
(3)Purpose of use of personal data, etc.
The JF will process the Users’ personal data to provide, improve and develop the Services.

In the case of processing the Users’ personal data for purposes other than the above, the JF will notify Users in advance of such new purposes of use and other matters as required by applicable laws.

By manifesting their intention to consent to this Privacy Policy, Users consent to the processing of their personal data by the JF within the scope of the above purpose of use, and the JF will process the Users’ personal data based on such Users’ consent; provided, however, that Users may withdraw such consent at any time. Even in that case, this will not affect the lawfulness of processing performed pursuant to consent before the Users’ withdrawal thereof.

The personal data that Users are to provide is necessary in order for the JF to provide the Service to the Users, and there may be cases in which Users who have not provided such data will be unable to use the Service.
(4)Retention Period
The JF is committed to complying with all applicable local regulations regarding data retention periods.
Technical or essential cookies are stored only for as long as necessary to deliver our services and ensure their proper functioning.
Analytics Cookies are retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which they are used, taking into account applicable laws and regulations. The retention period of Cookies may vary depending on the type of Cookie, the settings of the service provider, and the user's browsing environment.
Other cookies are retained only for a period reasonably necessary to fulfill their intended purposes.
Additionally, the duration of any consent provided for the use of cookies will not exceed the maximum period allowed under applicable law.

The JF retains personal data for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the purposes of use prescribed in this Policy. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider: (i) whether we have an ongoing relationship with the Users; (ii) whether we are obligated to store the Users’ personal data; and (iii) whether storing the Users’ personal data is necessary to fulfill the contract with the Users.

At the end of these periods, the data will either be deleted or anonymized.
Users' personal data is kept and stored on the JF's servers, located in cloud-based systems or on-premises servers managed by the JF, for the duration necessary to achieve the purposes of use specified above.
(5)Recipients of personal data
Will have access to your personal data to implement the purposes of use specified above:
1. (i)JF's overseas offices, including London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Cologne and Budapest, with other offices, including headquarters in Japan, and their persons;
2. (ii)JF's subcontractors: hosting providers, emailing providers, CRM tools; and
3. (iii)Where applicable: public and private bodies, exclusively to meet the legal obligations of the JF.
Personal data may therefore be transferred outside the European Union. The transfer of such data in this context is secured by means of the following tools:
- or the data is transferred to a country that has been the subject of an adequacy decision by the European Commission, in accordance with Article 45 of the GDPR: in this case, this country ensures a level of protection deemed sufficient and adequate to the provisions of the GDPR;
- or the data is transferred to a country whose level of data protection has not been recognized as adequate by the GDPR: in this case, these transfers are based on appropriate guarantees indicated in Article 46 of the GDPR, adapted to each provider, including but not limited to the conclusion of standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission, the application of binding corporate rules or under an approved certification mechanism;
- or the data is transferred on the basis of one of the appropriate safeguards described in Chapter V of the GDPR.
(6)Rights of Users
The Users may request from the JF access to, rectification or erasure of, and restriction of processing of their personal data, may object to the processing of the Users’ personal data, and may request data portability. The JF accepts such Users’ requests at the contact point set forth in “3. Contact” below.

The JF may refuse the Users’ requests if the JF deems that there is no basis for such Users’ requests or if they are deemed excessive.

The Users may raise objections with the data protection authorities having jurisdiction over the location of the Users’ domicile with regard to the processing of their personal data if they consider that the processing of your personal data constitutes a violation of the applicable texts (Article 77 of the GDPR).

2. Safety Management Measures

In order to protect from unauthorized access to personal data, loss, etc. of personal data, taking into account the type of personal data, the degree of sensitivity and the degree of economic influence and mental harm caused to Users in the case of a personal data breach, the JF comprehensively evaluates and judges the risks of personal data breaches, implements appropriate personal, organizational and technical safety management measures based on the risk of a personal data breach, if necessary, checks such safety management measures, sets up a process for correction, and constantly strives to improve security.

The JF shall strive to appropriately manage personal data by restricting the entry of outsiders into the offices which are processing personal data, conducting educational awareness activities for all officers and employees involved in the protection of personal data, and placing a manager in charge for each division processing personal data.

3. Contact

In the event of Users having any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or the processing of personal data by the JF or having any requests concerning the access to, rectification of, erasure of, or restriction of processing of personal data, or regarding data portability, please contact the JF.

The contact information for the JF is as follows:

[The Japan Foundation]

Data Protection Officer
1-6-4 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)3-5369-6076 / Fax: +81-(0)3-5369-6031
E-mail: dpo＠jpf.go.jp
(When sending an email, please replace the full-width "＠" character with a half-width character.)

4. Modifications

We may modify this policy at any time, in particular in order to comply with any regulatory, jurisprudential, editorial or technical developments. These amendments will apply on the effective date of the amended version. You are therefore invited to regularly consult the latest version of this policy. Nevertheless, we will keep you informed of any material changes to this Privacy Policy.

Entry into force: October 1, 2026