Japan Data Removal Guide (2026)
Residents of Japan have statutory rights under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) to access, correct, delete, and halt third-party provision of their personal data by corporate registries and commercial list brokers.
Research status: published guide pending fresh official-source re-verification.
This page is educational orientation, not legal advice. The legal fields below are a research snapshot; eligibility, exemptions, deadlines, penalty rules and broker routes can change. Verify the current statute and regulator guidance before relying on a right or filing a complaint.
At a glance
- Governing law
- APPI
- Response deadline
- Promptly without delay (customarily within 2 weeks to 30 days)
- Regulator
- Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC / 個人情報保護委員会)
- Private right of action
- Yes: tort claims under the Civil Code (Article 709) for privacy infringement
Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI / 個人情報保護法)
The APPI (Act No. 57 of 2003, as amended in 2020 and 2022) establishes strict duties for business operators handling personal information in Japan. Supervised by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC), the law strictly regulates third-party data sales and requires operators to cease data distribution upon individual request.
Read the full APPIexplainer →Scope, penalties, private right of action, enforcement history.
What rights do Japan residents have?
- →Right to request notification of the purpose of use (Article 32)
- →Right to disclosure of retained personal data and records of third-party provision (Article 33)
- →Right to correction, addition, or deletion of inaccurate personal data (Article 34)
- →Right to request cessation of use or erasure when handling violates statutory limits (Article 35(1)-(2))
- →Right to request cessation of provision to third parties (Article 35(3)-(5))
- →Right to file formal complaints and inquiries with the PPC
Who holds your data in Japan?
Japan maintains a unique sector of commercial list brokers known historically as "meibo-gyosha" (名簿業者), which aggregate graduate directories, corporate executive rosters, telephone directories (Hello Page), and corporate registries (Teikoku Databank, Tokyo Shoko Research). While 2022 APPI amendments tightened third-party opt-out rules, international B2B brokers and digital aggregators continue indexing Japanese professionals.
Public-record sources brokers scrape
- Basic Resident Register (住民基本台帳) public inspection excerpts and historical phone directories (ハローページ)
- Corporate commercial registries (Teikoku Databank, Tokyo Shoko Research, Ministry of Justice Legal Affairs Bureau filings)
- Alumni rosters, academic society directories, and executive biographical listings (Jinji Koshinroku)
- Global B2B contact aggregators indexing Japanese corporate email addresses
How to remove your data in Japan
- 1Submit statutory Article 35 requests for cessation of third-party provision to Japanese commercial list brokers.
- 2Opt out of commercial phone directory listings and request unlisted status from your telecommunications carrier.
- 3Send APPI deletion and access requests to international people-search and B2B sales intelligence platforms.
- 4Consult with the PPC Consultation Room (個人情報保護委員会 相談ダイヤル) or National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC / 国民生活センター) if an operator refuses compliance.
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Much of Japan residents' data is held by US-based people-search brokers. OfflistMe drafts a legally structured deletion email for each one, sent from your own inbox, no account, no ID upload. Pair it with the Japan-specific steps above.
Request Removal NowWhat if a company ignores your request?
File a complaint with the Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC / 個人情報保護委員会). The maximum penalty in Japan is Up to ¥100 million for corporate criminal offenses; administrative compliance orders, and you may have a private right of action (Yes: tort claims under the Civil Code (Article 709) for privacy infringement).
File a complaint with the Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC / 個人情報保護委員会) ↗FAQ: Japan data removal
What is the opt-out mechanism under Article 27(2) of Japan's APPI?+
Article 27(2) of the APPI allows businesses to provide personal data to third parties without prior consent only if they notify the PPC and make clear disclosures to individuals, including an unconditional commitment to stop providing the data upon request.
Does the APPI apply to foreign data brokers collecting data on Japanese residents?+
Yes. Article 171 of the APPI establishes extraterritorial jurisdiction over foreign business operators that handle personal information of individuals located in Japan in connection with supplying goods or services.