2016 Jan C8 – Business Secrets And Privacy – Recent developments in Japan and in the world

The first full revision of the Japanese privacy law should have been adopted in 2015 but the June leak at the Japan Pension Service aborted the whole process. The law should have another chance this year.

In 2015, a EU court struck down the safe harbor rule that had governed data transfers between the US and Japan for 15 years. The EU is preparing for a complete overhaul of its privacy legislation in 2017. The Japanese METI has also been active on data transfers. The Japanese law on business secrets has also been amended recently.

All these issues will particularly affect international businesses, those that sell in Japan while handling customer data on servers located in the US or the EU for instance. In the January CI C8 meeting, Jean-Denis Marx, a partner with Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) will share his insights on the latest in privacy and how it could affect your business.