* This document is a provisional translation of the original Japanese text. For precise information and nuances, please refer to the original text.
1. Basic premise
The Public Relations Office, Overall Co-ordination Division, Minister’s Secretariat, the Ministry of Finance (hereinafter referred to as "the Office") collects information on users of the Official Website of the Ministry of Finance (www.mof.go.jp; hereinafter referred to as "the Website") and Feedback to the Ministry of Finance (www2.mof.go.jp/enquete; www2.mof.go.jp/ｍ/enquete) (hereinafter referred to as “the Site”) to the extent necessary for the efficient operation of the services provided on the Site (such as provision of information by the Site, sending of e-mails through the “E-mail Service” and the “E-mail Magazine delivery service,” and acceptance of various comments). Information acquired will be handled appropriately within the scope of the purposes of use.
2. Scope of information gathered
(1) The Office automatically collects and stores Internet domain names, IP addresses, information about access to the Site and so on (hereinafter referred to as "user information"). Cookies (information transmitted from the server to the user's browser and stored on the user's computer in order for the server to identify users) are used for the purpose of improving the usability of the Site and do not contain personal information. Users may also set their browsers not to receive cookies at any time.
(2) When using the “E-mail Service” and/or “E-mail Magazine delivery service,” the users are requested to register their e-mail address.
(3) At the “Feedback” link, the Office may ask users to enter their name, address, occupation and e-mail address. The sender’s e-mail address is displayed to the recipient.
3. Purpose of use
(1) The information acquired in 2.(1) will be used as a reference for the efficient operation of the service provided by the Site.
(2) The e-mail addresses collected in 2.(2) will be used for sending e-mails through the “E-mail Service” and/or the “E-mail Magazine delivery service.”
(3) The comments and requests collected in 2.(3) will be used as a reference in future policymaking. Therefore, the comments may be forwarded to other offices within the Ministry of Finance or made public in a manner that would make it impossible to identify the senders of the comments (except for cases where the Site indicates in advance that the senders’ names, etc. will be published or where the senders consent to the publication of their names, etc.). The Office may use the e-mail addresses and telephone numbers to respond to and confirm inquiries. Such information may be forwarded to other related ministries depending on the content of the comments.
4. Use and disclosure limitations
Except in cases of legal disclosure requests, cases of illegal access, threats and other unlawful acts or other special reasons, the Office does not use acquired information, nor will it provide acquired information to a third party, for any purposes other than those described in 3. However, statistical information regarding access to the Site or information on users' attributes may be made public.
5. Measures to ensure security
The Office is taking necessary measures for the appropriate management of acquired information to prevent any leakage, loss or destruction of acquired information.The operation of the Site may be outsourced, but the organization to whom the information is outsourced will take necessary measures for appropriate management of acquired information.
6. Disclosure of personal information
If Information collected in services, such as “E-mail Service,” “E-mail Magazine delivery service,” and/or “Feedback,” comes under the Section 3 of Article 2 of the Act for Protection of Personal Information Held by Administrative Organs (Act No.58, May 30, 2003), the users can request for disclosure of their own personal information in light of the Article 12 of Act No.58.
Users of the “E-mail Service” and the “E-mail Magazine delivery service” may cancel their registration anytime and also may change and revise the registered information anytime by canceling the old information and registering new information.
7. Scope of application
This privacy policy applies only to the Site and does not apply to other sites linked to the Site. In the event the information is forwarded to related ministries, the information will be handled under the responsibilities of the respective ministries.
8. Others
The Ministry of Finance may revise the privacy policy, in which case it will be announced on the Site.