Japan relaxes privacy laws to make AI development easy

theregister.com

Japan relaxes privacy laws to make AI development easy

: Opting out of personal data use won't be an option because Minister says that's a 'very big obstacle' to AI adoption

[. . .] Japan’s government on Tuesday approved amendments to the nation’s Personal Information Protection Act that remove the requirement for opt-in consent before sharing personal data.

The amendments require those who acquire facial images to explain how they handle the data, but offering a chance to opt out won’t be mandatory.

Organizations that collect the wrong data, or maliciously use it to harm citizens, will face fines equivalent to the profit they make from improperly using data. Japan’s government will also implement fines for obtaining data through fraudulent means.

But in the event of a data leak, organizations will not need to notify impacted citizens if there is little risk of harm to individuals.

Despite its reputation as a hotbed of technology, Japan has been markedly slow to digitize government services. These amendments are aimed, in part, at making sure Japan is not slow to catch the AI wave.

Below is a press release article concerning these amendments from the website of Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC), which contains some untranslated source materials

ppc.go.jp

「個人情報の保護に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律案」の閣議決定について（令和８年４月７日） ｜個人情報保護委員会

個人情報保護委員会のホームページです。令和８年４月７日の「個人情報の保護に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律案」の閣議決定について掲載しています。