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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy (Personal Information Protection Policy)

Miyazaki International Legal Office, Administrative Scrivener Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “this Office”) receives a substantial amount of personal information from clients in the course of immigration and residence application services for foreign nationals. This Office complies with the duty of confidentiality stipulated in Article 12 of the Administrative Scrivener Act and the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI), and strives for the proper acquisition, use, and management of personal information.

1. Personal Information Manager

The Personal Information Manager of this Office is the Representative Administrative Scrivener. The Representative Administrative Scrivener is responsible for managing all personal information handled by this Office and oversees its operation in accordance with this Policy.

2. Categories of Personal Information Collected

For the performance of our services, this Office may collect the following personal information.

(1) Information About the Applicant

Name (Kanji, Katakana, Roman alphabet, name in home country)
Date of birth, gender, nationality / region
Address, phone number, email address, LINE ID and other contact information
Facial photograph
Passport information (number, date of issue, expiration date, issuing country)
Residence Card information (number, status of residence, period of stay, expiration date)
Items listed on Certificate of Residence (Juminhyo), household information
Educational background, work history, qualifications, and licenses
Family composition, information about spouse and relatives
Income, tax payment, social insurance enrollment status
History of dispositions, where required by the nature of the application

(2) Information About the Client’s Related Parties

Names, addresses, contact information, and relationship of spouses, dependents, employers, inviting parties, guarantors of identity, etc.
Names, locations, business descriptions, officer information, and financial statements of employers / affiliated organizations

(3) Information Related to Inquiries and Consultations

Inquiry contents received via the website contact form, LINE Official Account, email, telephone, etc.
Records of consultations and meetings, contents of documents provided (including audio recorded with your consent and its transcript and summary)

3. Purposes of Use of Personal Information

This Office uses the personal information collected for the following purposes.

Performance of immigration and residence management services, including but not limited to: Application for Certificate of Eligibility, Application for Change of Status of Residence, Application for Extension of Period of Stay, Application for Permission for Permanent Residence, Application for Re-entry Permit, Application for Certificate of Authorization for Employment, Application for Permission to Engage in Activity Other than that Permitted under the Status of Residence, and Application for Permission of Naturalization
Representation in applications and notifications to government agencies under the Immigration Control Act and other related laws
Communication of work progress to clients and responses to inquiries
Preparation of service agreements, invoicing of fees, and management of payments
Retention of work records and preparation for future renewals of period of stay
Identity verification and fulfillment of statutory verification obligations under the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds and other applicable laws
Provision of business-related information from this Office and seasonal greetings
Publication of client testimonials and case examples on our website, in printed materials, on social media, etc. (for publicity purposes), within the scope of written consent obtained individually from the person concerned
Notification of upcoming deadlines, such as the timing for renewal of the period of stay, based on the status of residence and expiration date registered by the person concerned via our LINE Official Account, etc. (such notifications are for reference only and do not constitute a judgment as to whether renewal is possible or likely to be granted)
Verification for the exclusion of anti-social forces (including research of publicly available information and inquiries to public agencies)
Improvement of this Office’s services and publicity (including tallying how inquirers came to know about this Office)

4. Provision of Personal Information to Third Parties

This Office will not provide personal information to third parties without the consent of the individual, except in the following cases.

When providing to the Immigration Services Agency, Legal Affairs Bureau, tax office, municipal offices, or other government agencies within the scope necessary for the performance of services
When provision is required by law
When necessary for the protection of human life, body, or property, and it is difficult to obtain the consent of the individual
When providing with the consent of the individual
When making inquiries to a Center for the Elimination of Boryokudan (organized crime groups), the police, or other public agencies, to the extent necessary for verification for the exclusion of anti-social forces (limited to cases where consent has been obtained at the time of the request, or where permitted by law)

5. External Services Used in Operations (Contracted Service Providers)

For operational efficiency and quality, this Office uses the following external services. Each service is subject to the respective provider’s privacy policy and security standards.

Service Category	Service Name / Provider	Purpose of Use
Business email, file storage, calendar, online meetings	Google Services (Google LLC, USA) Gmail / Google Drive / Google Calendar (booking scheduler) / Google Meet / Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, etc.	Business email correspondence, document storage / sharing, online booking management for initial consultations, online meetings, transcription and summarization of meetings (with your consent)
Client communication (LINE)	LINE Official Account (LY Corporation, Japan / data storage location: Japan and USA)	Communication with clients, response to consultations, delivery of deadline notifications
Client communication (messaging apps)	KakaoTalk (Kakao Corp., Republic of Korea) / WeChat (WeChat International Pte. Ltd., Singapore)	Communication with clients and response to consultations, where the client so wishes (not used for exchanging documents [files])
Client communication (WhatsApp / Messenger)	WhatsApp (WhatsApp Business Platform, WhatsApp LLC, USA) / Messenger (Facebook Page, Meta Platforms, Inc., USA)	Communication with clients, response to consultations (not used for exchanging documents [files])
Generative AI (operational assistance)	Claude (Anthropic, PBC, USA) / Gemini API (Google LLC, USA)	Drafting and proofreading of business documents, translation, assistance in drafting messages to clients, research, drafting of answers to consultations received via LINE, summarizing records of consultation meetings held with your consent and searching reference materials, and assisting in the review of documents you submit for the Free Immigration Pre-Submission Check (client personal information may be entered to the extent necessary to handle requests and consultations; used under settings or contracts under which input is not used for AI training)
Meeting records (recording and transcription)	PLAUD (Plaud Inc., USA)	Recording of meetings and phone calls with your consent, and transcription and summarization by AI (transcription and summaries by AI services in the United States that PLAUD uses — transcription by one of OpenAI, Google or Microsoft, summaries by Gemini of Google LLC; used under settings that do not allow the content or audio to be used for AI training)
Electronic contracts	Adobe Acrobat Standard (Adobe Inc., USA)	Electronic signing and delivery of service agreements
Accounting / tax	freee Accounting / freee Tax Filing (freee K.K., Japan)	Accounting operations and tax filing for this Office
Payment processing	Stripe (Stripe Japan K.K., Japan)	Receipt of client payments (credit card, PayPay, etc.) on our behalf
Website operation, contact form	WordPress / TCD theme / Contact Form 7 / reCAPTCHA v3 (Google LLC, USA) / Site Kit by Google, Google Analytics and Google Ads (Google LLC, USA)	Operation of the office website, receipt of inquiries, prevention of unauthorized submissions, access analytics, measurement of ad effectiveness (see “Access Analytics (Google Analytics) and Cookies” below)
Website delivery and protection	Cloudflare (Cloudflare, Inc., USA)	Faster delivery of the office website, protection against unauthorized access and attacks, and relaying of communications via WhatsApp (information about access to the website [IP address, etc.], the content submitted through the inquiry form and the content of communications via WhatsApp pass through the company’s network)
Web hosting	Onamae.com Rental Server (GMO Internet, Inc., Japan)	Provision of website and email infrastructure for this Office

This Office conducts appropriate selection of these contracted service providers with respect to the handling of personal information, and supervises them to ensure necessary safety management.

Regarding the Use of AI (Generative AI) Services and Translation Services

This Office uses generative AI services and translation services for operational efficiency, while placing the protection of client personal information as the highest priority and adhering strictly to the following rules.

Translation services: For translation involving personal information, we use paid translation services that do not use input for training and do not store it after translation, translation functions processed on the device, or the generative AI described below. Free translation services that may use input for training or store it are not used for work involving personal information.
Generative AI (Claude, etc.): To the extent necessary to handle requests and consultations, we may use it to prepare and translate documents containing client personal information. It is used under settings or contracts under which input is not used for AI training; Individual Numbers (My Number) are never entered, and particularly sensitive information is kept to the minimum necessary.
Output from AI services is never transmitted externally as-is and must be reviewed and corrected by the Representative Administrative Scrivener before use.

For details, please see Section 8 of the Security Policy.

Access Analytics (Google Analytics) and Cookies

This Office uses Google Analytics, provided by Google LLC, to understand how our website (including pages operated by this Office, such as the Free Navigators and our app “Kokusai Life & Visa Navi”) is used and to improve our services and information.

Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect information such as the pages viewed, the date and time of viewing, the type of device and browser used, the approximate region, and the page from which you arrived. This Office does not send information that identifies you, such as your name or contact details, to Google Analytics.
reCAPTCHA (Google LLC), which we use to prevent unauthorized submissions through the inquiry form, is loaded on each page and uses cookies and similar technologies. The Google Privacy Policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and Terms of Service (https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en) apply to reCAPTCHA.
What you enter or select in the Free Navigators is not sent to this Office or to Google. When you tap or click the LINE button on a navigator’s result screen, a relay page counts, using Google Analytics, which navigator (its name and language) the button was tapped or clicked from. For the Immigration Pre-Submission Self-Check, when you tap or click the LINE or booking button on the result screen, we also count the result color (red, yellow or green) and which button was tapped or clicked (the answers you chose are not sent). In our app, we count, using Google Analytics, which buttons are tapped or clicked (such as which navigator’s entry point). The information counted on the relay page and in the app is also sent to Google Ads to measure ad effectiveness (see item 6).
For how Google handles this data, please see “How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services” (https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites?hl=en).
You can disable cookies in your browser settings. On desktop browsers, you can also stop collection by Google Analytics with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en).
To measure the effectiveness of ads we run through Google Ads (Google LLC), this Office also sends information about visits to our website (including the relay page of the Free Navigators and our app), such as whether you came from an ad, which pages were viewed and whether you went on to the inquiry page, to Google Ads through the same Google tag as Google Analytics, using cookies and similar technologies. We do not send information that identifies you, such as your name or contact details. Third parties, including Google, may use cookies and similar technologies to show this Office’s ads on Google services and on partner websites and apps, based on past visits to our website. You can change or turn off how Google shows you ads in Google’s “My Ad Center” (https://myadcenter.google.com/).

6. Retention Period of Personal Information

This Office, in principle, retains the personal information collected for five (5) years from the date of completion of services, after which the information is promptly disposed of or erased in a manner that prevents restoration. Records of inquiries and consultations that did not lead to an engagement (those received via the website contact form, LINE Official Account, email or telephone, or in meetings, etc.) are, in principle, retained for five (5) years from the date the consultation ended (meaning the date of the last communication regarding the consultation; notices and greetings sent by this Office are not counted), after which they are disposed of or erased in the same manner. However, where retention periods are otherwise stipulated by law, such statutory periods shall apply.

The status of residence and expiration date registered by the person concerned for deadline notifications will be erased when the person blocks our LINE Official Account or requests deletion, or when one (1) year has passed since the registered expiration date.

7. Safety Management Measures

This Office implements organizational, personnel, physical, and technical safety management measures to prevent the leakage, loss, or damage of personal information and to ensure other aspects of its safe management. The specific measures are stipulated separately in the “Security Policy.”

Handling of Personal Data in Foreign Countries

By using the external services listed in Section 5, this Office may handle personal data in foreign countries. Based on information published by the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan, such as information on the personal information protection systems of foreign countries, this Office understands the systems of the countries concerned and takes safety management measures, including the selection and supervision of the contractors listed in Section 5. The country in which each service provider is located and the storage location of personal data are as follows.

Service	Country of the provider	Storage location of personal data
Google services (Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Meet, etc.), reCAPTCHA, Site Kit, Google Analytics, Google Ads, Gemini API, Google Cloud Speech-to-Text	USA	Cannot be specified. Google’s data centers are located in multiple countries, including the USA, Japan, Europe and Asia, and the country in which data is stored is managed by Google. For locations, please see Google’s published information (https://datacenters.google/locations/).
LINE Official Account	Japan	Japan and USA
KakaoTalk	Republic of Korea	Cannot be specified, because the company does not publish the country in which messages are stored. The company states that it entrusts the processing of users’ requests and the summarizing of content entered by users to a contractor, and that content entered or requested by users when using such services is transferred to the USA.
WeChat	Singapore	Singapore and Malaysia. The company states that a group company in the Chinese Mainland may access data remotely for technical support, and that chat messages are deleted from its servers within 72 hours of sending (except for items saved to Favorites, attached to an abuse report, etc.), and images, audio, videos and files 120 hours after sending. The company also states that communications with Weixin users (users registered with a Chinese Mainland [+86] mobile number) are shared with Weixin and processed in the Chinese Mainland, and are also subject to Weixin’s privacy guidelines.
WhatsApp	USA	Cannot be specified. This Office’s WhatsApp contact point uses a business service (WhatsApp Business Platform); the data centers of Meta, the group company that processes the messages, are located in multiple countries, including the USA, Singapore, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden, and the country in which messages are processed is managed by Meta. For locations, please see Meta’s published information (https://datacenters.atmeta.com/all-locations/). Messages are sent to and received from this Office’s server (Japan) via Meta’s servers. Meta states that messages are kept on its servers for a maximum of 30 days.
Messenger	USA	Cannot be specified, because the company states that it has infrastructure or data centers in places including the USA, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden, and the country in which data is stored is managed by the company.
Claude (Anthropic)	USA	USA. Input content is, in principle, deleted within 30 days.
Cloudflare	USA	Content submitted through the inquiry form passes through the company’s network and reaches this Office’s server (Japan). The content of communications via WhatsApp also passes through the company’s network to and from this Office’s server (Japan). The company states that records of access to the website (IP address, etc.) are processed mainly in the USA and Europe.
Stripe	Japan (Stripe Japan K.K.). Stripe Payments Europe, Limited in Ireland is involved in processing personal data.	Cannot be specified. The company states that it may transfer personal data to countries other than Japan, including the USA.
Adobe Acrobat Standard (electronic signature)	USA	Cannot be specified. The company’s e-signature data centers are located in Japan, the USA, Europe, Asia, etc., and the storage location depends on the account settings.
freee Accounting / freee Tax Filing	Japan	The company states that it may handle personal data in the USA, the Philippines, etc.
Onamae.com Rental Server	Japan	Japan
PLAUD (including the AI services used for transcription and summaries)	USA	Japan (Tokyo). Transcripts and summaries are processed by AI services in the United States that PLAUD uses (transcription by one of OpenAI, Google or Microsoft; summaries by Gemini of Google LLC). PLAUD states that it has contracts under which AI service providers do not use the input for training and do not retain it.

This Office uses KakaoTalk, WeChat, WhatsApp and Messenger only for communication with clients who so wish (including responses to consultations), and does not use them for exchanging documents (files).

The European Union (including Ireland) has been designated by the Personal Information Protection Commission, under Article 28 of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, as a region with a personal information protection system recognized as being of a standard equivalent to that of Japan.

8. Requests for Disclosure, Correction, or Deletion of Personal Information

When the individual or his/her representative requests notification of purposes of use, disclosure, correction, addition, deletion, suspension of use, erasure, or suspension of provision to third parties of his/her personal information, this Office will respond appropriately in accordance with applicable laws. Requests should be directed to the contact window at the end of this Policy.

When making a request, please be advised that we will verify that the requester is the individual or his/her duly authorized representative.

9. Duty of Confidentiality

The Representative Administrative Scrivener and employees of this Office are bound by a strict duty of confidentiality with respect to secrets learned in the course of their duties, pursuant to Article 12 of the Administrative Scrivener Act. This duty continues even after the individual ceases to be an Administrative Scrivener.

10. Revision of This Policy

This Office may revise this Policy in response to changes in laws and regulations, changes in the scope of services, or other necessities. The revised Policy shall take effect from the time it is posted on the website of this Office (kokusaihome.com).