Your information is handled responsibly.

1. Information we may collect

Depending on how you contact or use AFIJ, we may collect information such as:

• name and contact details;
• the content of your inquiry and related communications;
• information reasonably necessary to carry out an agreed local check, call, visit, property-related task, business support task, relocation support task, or other requested service;
• billing and payment-reference information needed to administer an agreed service; and
• technical website information such as pages viewed, browser or device information, and approximate location where analytics services provide it.

We ask you not to send sensitive documents or information unless they are genuinely necessary for the service and we have agreed on a suitable handling method.

2. Purposes of use

We use personal information only for reasonably identified business purposes, including:

• responding to inquiries and consultations;
• confirming the scope, timing and price of requested work;
• performing and reporting on an agreed service;
• communicating about service progress, payment or support;
• maintaining appropriate business and security records;
• preventing misuse, fraud, security incidents or duplicate handling; and
• meeting applicable legal, accounting and regulatory obligations.

If we need to use information for a materially different purpose, we will assess whether additional notice or consent is required before doing so.

3. Data minimization

AFIJ aims to collect and retain only information reasonably necessary for the purpose at hand. Development and testing of new systems should use synthetic or test data wherever practicable rather than copying real customer information into development environments.

4. Sharing, service providers and third parties

We do not sell personal information. We may use carefully selected service providers for functions such as email, cloud hosting, analytics, billing, communications or technical support. Where a provider processes information for us, we seek to limit the data and purpose and to apply appropriate contractual and security controls.

We may also disclose information to another party when this is necessary to carry out a service you have specifically agreed to, where we have obtained consent when required, or where disclosure is permitted or required by law.

5. International data handling

Some technology or service providers may operate outside Japan. Before personal data is transferred to a foreign third party in a way that requires special treatment under Japanese law, AFIJ will assess the destination, recipient, safeguards, information that must be provided to you, and whether consent or another permitted framework is required.

6. Cookies and analytics

This website may use cookies and analytics tools such as Google Analytics to understand site usage and improve the website. Analytics providers may process device, browser, page-view and approximate-location information under their own terms and privacy practices. Browser settings can be used to control certain cookies.

7. Security

We take reasonable organizational and technical measures designed to reduce risks such as unauthorized access, loss, alteration, misuse or improper disclosure. Access to personal information should be limited according to role and business need. No internet or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

8. Retention and deletion

We do not adopt indefinite retention as a default. Information is kept only for as long as reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose or as required by applicable law, accounting, dispute-resolution or other legitimate recordkeeping needs. Retention periods may differ by record type. When information is no longer required, we aim to delete it or otherwise render it no longer identifiable where appropriate.

9. Privacy requests

Where applicable under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information and other relevant Japanese rules, you may request information about our handling of your personal information and may have rights concerning disclosure, correction, addition, deletion, suspension of use, erasure, suspension of third-party provision, or disclosure of certain third-party provision records. Legal exceptions may apply.

We may need to verify your identity before responding so that another person cannot obtain or change your information.

10. Security incidents and notifications

If a loss, unauthorized disclosure, misdirected communication, improper access or other privacy incident occurs, we assess the facts, take containment and remediation steps, preserve appropriate records, and determine whether notification or reporting obligations apply under Japanese law.

11. Policy changes

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, systems, providers or legal obligations change. We keep version information so that material changes can be traced. The version and last-updated date shown on this page identify the current public notice.

12. Contact

Privacy inquiries: info@afriendinjapan.com
A Friend in Japan (AFIJ)
Based in Nagano City, Japan