Japan receives green light from APEC to join Cross-Border Privacy Rules system

By accessing the CBPR, Japan joins the US and Mexico in agreeing to undertake measures to ensure the protection of cross-border information of businesses and others under a common set of principles adopted by the 21 APEC member economies.

Under the terms of CBPR, companies adopt and agree to abide by internal privacy rules coupled with third-party oversight by accountability agents. The government of the relevant country is tasked with overseeing and enforcing the process.

Japan submitted its application to join the system in June 2013.

In July 2012, the US Department of Commerce announced that the US had been approved as the first formal participant in the CBPR System, and the Federal Trade Commission confirmed that it would be the systems first privacy enforcement authority.

On 8 February, 2013 Mexico announced that its CBPR application had been approved.

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