UK-Japan data adequacy: joint statement
Published 23 April 2025
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Today, Commissioner Shuhei Ohshima of the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan and Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms Chris Bryant of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) met in London.
Both sides reaffirmed that they share a vision to collaborate closely to ensure free data flows with high standards of protection and to operationalise Data Free Flow with Trust, (DFFT). The Japan-UK adequacy arrangements, which were established in 2020, are one of the key elements of the 2 parties’ cooperation on safe and free flows of personal data.
The expansion of the scope of the respective adequacy arrangements between Japan and the UK, which builds on the 2021 reform of Japan’s data protection framework, will extend protections to new areas such as academia and the public sector and facilitate collaborative research and administrative cooperation beyond the scope of the existing partnership between Japan and the UK. It will also complement and amplify benefits from the Japan-UK Digital Partnership and Japan-UK Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and could pave the way for strengthening other areas of cooperation that rely heavily on the exchange of personal data.
Commissioner Shuhei Ohshima said:
Japan and the UK are global strategic partners, sharing common values such as freedom, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and upholding together the rules-based international systems as outward-looking and free-trading island countries with a global influence. We are delighted to accelerate the related work to fulfil the potential this mutual framework has and continue to further collaborate globally, including to promote and operationalise DFFT through international fora.
Minister Chris Bryant said:
High data protection standards are an important value shared by both the UK and Japan, underpinning our countries’ growth and contributing to more robust and efficient public services. This agreement will mean the flow of information between our nations will continue to bring tangible benefits to our societies, including propelling vital research and innovation in the fields of biology and neuroscience, backing our mission to raise living standards. I also commend the Personal Information Protection Commission’s role in advocating for global regulatory co-operation essential to the delivery of safe and trusted data flows.
Based on the common understanding that recognising the shared essence between the legal systems regarding personal data protection of the 2 countries, while respecting the differences shaped by their respective histories and cultures, would contribute to foster future interoperability, both sides welcomed the steady progress of ongoing discussions and agreed to accelerate the work with a view to delivering the expanded framework by spring 2026. Further technical work will be completed in the coming months, including a review of the current arrangements, before decisions by the 2 countries on whether to implement the extensions are made.