All data-roads lead to Tokyo after EU’s thumbs up

The European Commission has given its nod of approval for data protection rules drawn up in Japan, effectively extending GDPR protections for European citizens to the Asian country.

On top of the current data protection regulations in Japan, an additional set of rules have been created adding safeguards to guarantee that data transferred from the EU will be subject to the same protection as European standards. The supplementary rules will be binding on Japanese companies importing data from the EU and enforceable by the Japanese regulator and courts.

“This adequacy decision creates the world’s largest area of safe data flows,” said Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.

“Europeans’ data will benefit from high privacy standards when their data is transferred to Japan. Our companies will also benefit from a privileged access to a 127 million consumers’ market. Investing in privacy pays off; this arrangement will serve as an example for future partnerships in this key area and help setting global standards.”

Starting with the rules, new conditions will be set into play regarding the protection of data, the rights of European citizens to request further information on usage, as well as further requirements dictating what data can be transferred out of Japan to other nations. Protections have also been put in place with regard to how intelligence and law enforcement agencies can use or retain data, while a complaint-handling mechanism has also been introduced.

With these new rules the road to Tokyo is now open, allowing data to freely transfer between Japan and all members of the European Economic Area (EEA), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. It’s a win for the bureaucrats which have been looking to develop deeper relationships, creating a trading bloc which can provide more competition for the likes of the US and China.

“This is the first time that such a recognition takes place under the GDPR and in a reciprocal manner. As of today, Japan has adopted an equivalent decision for data transferred to the EEA,” said Tanguy Van Overstraeten, TMT Partner and Global Head of Data Protection at law firm Linklaters.

“This major milestone puts both Japan and the EU in a unique position, strengthening the recently adopted Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and Japan. The EPA will enter into effect on 1 February 2019, creating an open trading area covering over 600 million people and almost one third of the world’s GDP.”

For Japan enthusiasts, this announcement will come as great news, especially ahead of the EU-Japan trade agreement which is set to come into force next month. This tie up will create an open trading zone covering 635 million people and almost one third of the world’s total GDP, and the first ever bilateral framework agreement between the two parties.

As part of the new relationship the vast majority of the €1 billion of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan will be removed, as well as regulatory barriers inhibiting some trade, for example on car exports.

The European Commission might have its critics throughout the world, but this doesn’t look like anything aside from a good bit of business.