Privacy Policy

Introduction

Protecting the privacy and the confidentiality of personal information—over the Internet, on the telephone, or through our offices—has always been fundamental to the way the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (the "CCCJ") conducts its affairs. The CCCJ operates on the basis of a Privacy Policy and related procedures that guide the handling of the personal information collected. This privacy statement has been created to demonstrate the CCCJ’s firm commitment to protecting the privacy of its members, partners and potential Web site visitors. This policy and related procedures are consistent with applicable privacy legislation.

Privacy Statement

This policy deals only with personal information handled by the CCCJ. Personal information is information that relates to living individuals and which can be used to identify specify individuals by name, date of birth, or other description (including that which can be easily compared with other information and thereby used to identify specific individuals). The following explains how the CCCJ handles personal information. The CCCJ reserves the right to change this policy and it may be updated periodically. These changes may affect the use of personal information. Accordingly, please check for changes regularly.

Accountability

The CCCJ is accountable for all personal information under its control. The CCCJ’s Privacy Officer is the executive director who is designated as responsible for the CCCJ privacy policy. The Privacy Officer can be reached by e-mail at: marie.ohashi [at] cccj.or.jp

Purposes for Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

The purpose for which the CCCJ collects personal information will be identified at or before the time the information is collected. Personal information may be collected for such purposes as:

• administering CCCJ membership and providing member services;
• registering for CCCJ events, for example the Annual General Meeting;
• processing and administering the above or other purposes as necessary.

The CCCJ will not use personal information for any other purpose than identified at or before the time of collection.

Member Services

The CCCJ may collect employee contact information from its members in order to:
• send out newsletters and other relevant information
• inform members of upcoming CCCJ events
• send out invoices and otherwise administer CCCJ membership
This contact information is voluntarily provided by CCCJ members. Members may, at any time, be taken off of CCCJ mailing lists at their request.

Consent

The CCCJ seeks consent for all personal information it collects, uses and discloses through information provided to individuals prior to collection, or at the time of collection. For information which is considered to be more sensitive, for example credit card numbers, the CCCJ will ask for a signature as a sign of consent.

If information is voluntarily provided, this is interpreted as consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personally identifiable information as described in this Privacy Policy. The CCCJ will not use personal information for any purpose other than that for which consent has been provided. Should the CCCJ require use of personal information for a new purpose, consent will be sought for that new use.

Limits for Collecting, Using, Disclosing and Keeping Personal Information

The CCCJ does not collect, use or disclose personal information of individuals except when individuals give consent and provide the information on a voluntary basis. There may be occasions where more specific personal information is necessary for the CCCJ to proceed with a request for information, or provide a product or service; for example in cases of membership, or feedback forms. In such cases, the CCCJ will describe the information required. In all such cases, the CCCJ limits the amount and type of information collected to only the personal information that is required to provide the individual with the requested information, product, or service. The CCCJ collects only information that is voluntarily provided by the individual and undertakes that such information will be kept strictly confidential.

The CCCJ may disclose personal information collected by it without the knowledge or consent of the individual, for example to its lawyers; for purposes relating to an investigation under, the enforcement of or the administration of a law or where required by law to disclose the information. The CCCJ will not use or disclose personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual except as authorized by applicable law.

The CCCJ retains personal information only as long as is necessary to provide the individual with the requested product, service or information. For example, if personal information is given to register for an event, the personal information will only be used for this event and will then be deleted or destroyed. In some cases, however, legal reporting or retention requirements necessitate that the CCCJ retains information for a specific amount of time. In general, the CCCJ retains personal information for a period of one fiscal year, or until the annual audit is complete

The CCCJ does not sell or trade any personal information with third parties. Information may be transferred to third parties where information processing is outsourced by the CCCJ in the course of its activities or administrative procedures in specific cases. Where personal information is transferred to a service provider for processing, the CCCJ requires service providers to respect this Privacy Policy. Service providers are restricted from using or disclosing personal information transferred to them for any purpose other than the provision of services to the CCCJ.

Any personal information that the CCCJ retains is kept in such a manner as to ensure its security and confidentiality at all times.

Safeguarding Personal Information

The CCCJ respects the privacy of its members, partners, potential Web site visitors and internet users and will protect that privacy as vigorously as possible. Personal information is stored in electronic and physical files that are secure. Security measures include secure locks on filing cabinets, and using industry standard techniques such as firewalls, encryption, password protection, and restricted access to computers. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while the CCCJ strives to protect personal information, it cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted to it or received from it electronically. This is especially true for information transmitted via e-mail. The CCCJ has no way of protecting that information until it reaches it. Once a transmission is received, the CCCJ makes its best efforts to ensure its security on its servers. Internally, access to personal information is restricted to employees who need access to the information in order to do their jobs. These employees are limited in number, and are trained and knowledgeable about and committed to our privacy policies.

Accuracy of and Access to Personal Information Collected

The CCCJ makes every effort to keep personal information as accurate, complete, current and relevant as necessary for the identified purposes. The CCCJ does not routinely update personal information, unless members request an update.

The CCCJ makes readily available to individuals its Privacy Policy and related procedures for managing personal information. Customer access to the Privacy Policy and related procedures is provided on the CCCJ’s Web site and in written form. Any questions about the handling of personal information by the CCCJ can be raised with the Privacy Officer.

Individuals may upon written request view or edit their personal information as collected by the CCCJ. The CCCJ will inform them of what personal information it has about them, what it is being used for and, in cases where it has been disclosed, to whom it has been disclosed. There may be exceptional circumstances as provided by applicable law under which the CCCJ may not be able to give an individual access to personal information held about them by the CCCJ. In this case the CCCJ will explain the reason for this lack of access in accordance with applicable law.

To make a request, please send a letter, email or fax addressed to our Privacy Officer at the address indicated above. In any written request, please include the following information:

• Name
• Contact details
• Membership number (where applicable)
• Nature of the request, for example:
- view and/or edit information
- inquire regarding use and/or disclosure

If an inquiry concerns a specific transaction, please indicate the date of the transaction, and provide a receipt number if applicable.

The CCCJ will reply to requests in no later than thirty days after receipt of the request, or if it is not able to respond within this time period, a notice of extension will be sent.

Use of the CCCJ Web Site

The CCCJ believes that online privacy is important to the success of the Internet and electronic commerce in general and is strongly committed to each visitor’s right to privacy. This statement sets forth CCCJ’s Privacy Policy for its Web site located at http://www.cccj.or.jp and describes the practices that the CCCJ follows in respect to the privacy of the users of this site. By accessing and using materials from this Web site or sending or posting materials to it, you (the "user") agrees to the terms of this privacy commitment and to our practices to collect, use or disclose personal information.

This Privacy Statement may be updated periodically to reflect enhancements to the CCCJ Web site that may affect the use of personal information. Accordingly, please check back periodically.