May 31, 2023 Commencement of Provision of Information on Postal Relocation Notifications to Bar Association.

As part of the efforts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) to promote the use of post office data, MIC hereby announces that, starting from June 1, 2023, Japan Post will begin to provide the Japan Bar Association with information about the new addresses of those who have relocated without updating their resident registration and whose whereabouts have become difficult to ascertain. This will be done in response to inquiries by the Japan Bar Association, in line with Article 23-2 of the Lawyers Act, about parties to legal proceedings whose resident registrations have not been updated.*
(*) These inquiries are limited to those made by the Japan Bar Association after due diligence. They must be deemed appropriate and necessary legal procedures, provided they are unrelated to domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse.

MIC is in the process of promoting the effective use of post office data while ensuring the appropriate handling of the privacy of correspondence, secrets of others obtained in connection with postal items, and personal information. As part of this effort, MIC announces that Japan Post will start providing the Japan Bar Association with information on June 1, 2023, on the new addresses of those who have moved out without changing their resident registration and whose whereabouts are difficult to ascertain* but they are counterparties to actions if the Japan Bar Association inquires, pursuant to Article 23-2 of the Lawyers Act, for information on the new addresses.
(*) These inquiries are limited to those made by the Japan Bar Association after due diligence. They must be deemed appropriate and necessary legal procedures, provided they do not seem related to domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse.
The above represents one instance where post office data was provided to public organizations and others. This provision was added to the commentary of the Guidelines Concerning Personal Information Protection in the Field of Postal Services (Personal Information Protection Committee and MIC’s Notice No. 2 of 2022) in July of the previous year. ((1) Provision of information on victims of a large-scale disaster or other emergency, (2) Provision of information on tax delinquents in relation to their change of residence, and (3) Provision of information on the notification of residence change in response to the Japan Bar Association’s inquiry). MIC has been preparing for the concrete operation of this system by receiving advice from experts on the Advisory Board for Utilizing Post Office Data and by setting up a forum for discussions between related organizations, Japan Post and Japan Post.
In the future, MIC will gradually provide post office data related to disasters and taxes.

[Related materials]

• Meeting materials, etc. of the Advisory Board for Utilizing Post Office Data
• Commentary of Guidelines Concerning Personal Information Protection in the Field of Postal Services (Personal Information Protection Committee and MIC’s Notice No. 2 of 2022)

*The published materials are in Japanese only.