This article explores the politics surrounding the recent data transfer agreement between Japan and the European Union, with a focus on the linkage between Japanese domestic politics and foreign pressure on Japan’s personal information protection policy. The agreement may be seen as one of mutual recognition, in that Japan and the EU mutually recognized the other as providing an “adequate level of protection” for personal data. However, a close examination of the case suggests that Japan made substantial efforts to meet the EU’s standards for adequacy in order to enhance the interests of transnationalized Japanese firms that rely on the flow of personal information across borders. In sum, the latest changes in Japanese personal information protection regulation paved the way for the Japan-EU data transfer agreement; these changes were precipitated by the extraterritorial effect of the EU’s data protection laws, which had resonated within Japan’s domestic politics.

中文翻译：

---

日本的个人信息保护政策面临压力

本文探讨了围绕最近日本与欧盟之间的数据传输协议的政治，重点关注日本国内政治与外国对日本个人信息保护政策的压力之间的联系。该协议可被视为一项相互承认的协议，因为日本和欧盟相互承认对方为个人数据提供了“足够的保护”。然而，对该案的仔细审查表明，日本为满足欧盟的充分性标准做出了巨大努力，以提高依赖跨境个人信息流动的跨国日本公司的利益。总而言之，日本个人信息保护条例的最新变化为日欧数据传输协议铺平了道路；