Privacy Awareness Week 2023 (29th May - 4th June)
What is Privacy Awareness Week?
Each year, the members of Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) set a"Privacy Awareness Week (PAW)" to raise awareness of the protection of privacy and personal information.
As a member of APPA, the PPC Japan has been engaging in PAW activities, and intensifies its effort to raise awareness about the importance of personal information.
- Click here
for the efforts of PAW participating members in each country
Message from the Chairperson of the PPC Japan
The Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan (PPC Japan) designates the period from 29th May to 4th June 2023 as this year’s Privacy Awareness Week (PAW), and intensifies its effort to raise awareness about the importance of personal information. As a member of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA), the PPC Japan has been engaging in PAW activities every year since 2018.
In the former half of fiscal year 2022(from 1st April to 30th September 2022), the number of the cases on personal data breach that were directly reported to the PPC Japan is 1,587, which increased from 517 during the same period in 2021. In addition, robberies and frauds for which perpetrators are recruited via SNS have been committed in a wider area of Japan. Under these circumstances, ensuring the proper handling of personal information, including security of personal data, has become increasingly more important.
Our lifestyle is returning to what it was before the novel coronavirus pandemic, for example, resuming travels and lifting ban on vocalization at various events. On the other hand, handling personal information on the internet, including online shopping and participating in online events has been normal in daily life.
These internet services are convenient and easy to use with your smartphone or computer, while the business operators which provide these services hold a large amount of personal information. Once such personal information is leaked for any reasons, it could be difficult to delete the leaked personal information completely because it often spreads unknowingly.
For business operators, please make sure once again if personal information is properly handled, for example, in the following situations.
Do you manage the handling of personal information to the minimum extent necessary, for example, by limiting the number of employees who can handle personal information and the locations where they can access?
Are operation systems and other software of PCs kept updated to the latest version?
When outsourcing the handling of personal information, be sure to require the subcontractor to properly manage the information by signing an outsourcing contract and conducting periodic audits.
We, PPC Japan, provide useful materials such as various publications and thematic videos on the topics to which businesses should pay special attention, which are available on our website.
Besides, since April 2023, the 2021 Amended Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) has been enforced, which now applies commonly to the public entities nationwide including local governments. You are advised to refer to the relevant information on our website, too.
Also, it is important for individuals as well as business operators to handle personal information with caution on a daily basis.
With regard to everyday precautions on the handling of personal information in use of social media and online games, various tools including awareness videos as well as comics and pamphlets are available on our website, so that individuals can learn about the handling of personal information and the personal information protection legal system.
When children are using social media or playing online games, they might post their own or their friends’ name, school names, or photos that show their addresses, without realizing the consequence. In some reported cases, they run into danger because of apps with ability of sharing their location information with others. I invite you to take this opportunity to discuss and set some rules to use online sites with your family such as confirmation of consent from parents or guardians when children use online services.
Personal information, when used properly, can make our lives more convenient and enriching. I would like to ask you once again to keep in mind the proper handling of personal information.
If you have any questions about personal information, please visit and explore our website for further information, try chatbot service, or contact us at Inquiry Line.
I hope the Privacy Awareness Week will help you to reflect on and think about your privacy and handling of personal information.
TANNO Mieko
Chairperson
Personal Information Protection Commission
For Individuals
We introduce key points in an easy-to-understand manner with cartoons, videos, and other content designed to improve the information literacy of each citizen and information education for students.
※From the viewpoint of clarity, the terms used may be different from the definitions under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI).
- Do you handle personal information appropriately?
Let's think about what to do on the following scenes .
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- Click for answer
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- Click for answer
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- Click for answer
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- The APPI Learned from Comics (for individuals/students)
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- We introduce the basics of the APPI in an easy-to-understand manner with cartoons, videos, and other content designed to improve the information literacy of each citizen and information education for students (Japanease contents).
※From the viewpoint of clarity, the terms used may be different from the definitions under the APPI.
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For Business Operators
- Do you handle personal information appropriately?
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Businesses handling personal information are required to take various measures to handle personal information properly. Let's take a look at the rules for handling in the workplace (jump to pages in Japanese).
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- Data Mapping Toolkit
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As business operators hold more personal information, the need for managing such data appropriately has been increasing in recent years. "Privacy Awareness Week 2023" is a good opportunity to think about data mapping, which is a maeasure to organize the data handled in your company and visualize how the data is handled. The PPC Japan has prepared a "Data Mapping Toolkit
" to help you do this.Data Mapping Toolkit Brochure (PDF : 4367KB)
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- The 2021 Amended APPI
The amendment of the APPI reflecting the Act on the Formation of Digital Society, promulgated in 19 May 2021, has consolidated the rules on the handling of personal information by the public organs and local governments which were stipulated in separate laws and ordinances, and centralized the entire jurisdiction of the protection of personal information under the PPC Japan.
For more information about the 2021 Amended APPI
(Japanease page)
For School Officials and Parents（Materials for Children）
We have prepared materials for children and parents to think about the importance of personal information. We also give classes to teach "appropriate handling of personal information" for elementary school students nationwide by dispatching our staff and online.For more information, check pages for children below.
Page for children (In Japanease)
- Delivery Lessons
- Japanese Government Internet TV(movie)
- Your Important Personal Information
Click for download
(PDF : 4450KB)
Posters for Privacy Awareness Week
The files of poster are available by following download links.
