Regulation (EU) 2016/679 sets out the rules for the transfer of personal data from controllers or processors in the European Union to third countries and international organisations to the extent that such transfers fall within its scope. The rules on international transfers of personal data are laid down in Chapter V of that Regulation, more specifically in Articles 44 to 50. The flow of personal data to and from countries outside the European Union is necessary for the expansion of international cooperation and international trade, while guaranteeing that the level of protection afforded to personal data in the European Union is not undermined.

This Decision has the effect that transfers from a controller or processor in the European Economic Area (EEA) (7) to such organisations in Japan may take place without the need to obtain any further authorisation. This Decision does not affect the direct application of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 to such organisations when the conditions of its Article 3 are fulfilled.

Under the APPI, no specific distinction is drawn between the obligations imposed on controllers and processors. The absence of this distinction does not affect the level of protection because all PIHBOs are subject to all provisions of the Act. A PIHBO that entrusts the handling of personal data to a trustee (the equivalent of a processor under the GDPR) remains subject to the obligations under the APPI and Supplementary Rules with regard to the data it has entrusted. Additionally, under Article 22 of the APPI, it is bound to "exercise necessary and appropriate supervision" over the trustee. In turn, as the PPC has confirmed, the trustee is itself bound by all the obligations in the APPI and the Supplementary Rules.

Finally, a further safeguard in case of (onward) transfers follows from Articles 20 and 22 of the APPI. According to these provisions, where a third country operator (data importer) acts on behalf of the PIHBO (data exporter), that is as a (sub-) processor, the latter has to ensure supervision over the former as regards security of data processing.

In any event, as regards personal data that has been collected in the European Union, any decision based on automated processing will typically be taken by the data controller in the Union (which has a direct relationship with the concerned data subject) and is thus subject to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (56). This includes transfer scenarios where the processing is carried out by a foreign (e.g. Japanese) business operator acting as an agent (processor) on behalf of the EU controller (or as a sub-processor acting on behalf of the EU processor having received the data from an EU controller that collected it) which on this basis then takes the decision. Therefore, the absence of specific rules on automated decision making in the APPI is unlikely to affect the level of protection of the personal data transferred under this Decision.