Japan’s parliament OKs new bill to overhaul personal data protection
Japan’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, passed a bill on Tuesday to revise the country’s personal information protection law, Jiji Press reports.
The legislation introduces stricter penalties, including fines for businesses that repeatedly engage in unlawful handling of personal data.
The bill was approved at a plenary session by a majority vote, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party, along with support from the opposition Democratic Party for the People. The Centrist Reform Alliance and Sanseito, both opposition parties, opposed the measure.
The proposal will now move to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, where further deliberations are expected. Lawmakers anticipate the bill will be enacted during the current Diet session, which runs though July.
A key provision requires companies that repeatedly obtain or misuse personal information to pay fines equivalent to the profits gained from such violations. The measure is designed to deter abuse and reinforce protections for individuals’ data.
Earlier, it was reported that public approval of the Cabinet led by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had dropped by 2.5 percentage points to 61.3%.
