Human-centric data protection laws and policies: A lesson from Japan

This article examines the human dignity defined in Convention 108+ and, from a Japanese perspective, explores the possibility of a universal philosophy of data protection.The recent human resources scandal (the Rikunabi case) in Japan has made stakeholders to realise the importance of the basic philosophy of data protection. Convention 108+ declared ‘human dignity’ to prohibit an instrumental treatment of individuals in processing personal data, and thereby, in a positive sense, place the human in the centre of data processing cycle. Although there is no concept equivalent to ‘human dignity’ under the Japanese data protection laws, due to social norms in Japan, the human-centric approach is supported by recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) guidelines in Japan.The basic idea of the relationship between humans and machines is universal, even if the laws are local, in bridging the different legal regimes. The promise of Convention 108+ seems to take the processing of massive volumes of personal data, sorting out the individuals, and standardising the personality as its specific targets, and the defence of digital humanity as its noble ideal. In this sense, Convention 108+ has a universal value with its human dignity.