## Chairman's Message

The Specific Personal Information Protection Commission is a new independent data protection authority established on January 1, 2014, under the Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in the Administrative Procedure (hereinafter, the "Number Use Act") promulgated on May 31, 2013. Under the Number Use Act, the Government of Japan has adopted the Number System, which introduces the Individual Number that will be used in administrative fields related to social security, taxation, and disaster management.

The Number System is a social infrastructure that promotes efficiency and transparency and will be highly convenient for citizens. However, citizens have expressed concerns regarding its use, such as a concern about government control; tracking, collecting, and watching of personal information; and harm to assets. Thus, the Number Use Act has introduced legislative safety measures such as monitoring and supervising any entity that handles personal information, including Individual Numbers (hereinafter, "Specific Personal Information").

We, all the members of the Specific Personal Information Commission and the secretariat, continue to dedicate our strength, with a strong sense of responsibility to ensure the proper handling of Specific Personal Information while taking into account its utility.

I have advocated establishing an independent data protection authority to guide and supervise both public and private entities for the proper handling of personal information over the last thirty years. I also engaged in legal research on privacy issues over half a century and in the development processes of all bills regarding personal information protection and privacy. Utilizing these experiences, I will make great efforts to achieve our mission. Finally, we appreciate your continued support and encouragement.

Masao Horibe

Chairman

## History of the Establishment

Feb 2010 The Government of Japan established Panels on the Number System for Social Security and Taxation.

Nov 2010 The Government of Japan established the Working-level Panels on the Number System for Social Security and Taxation under the Headquarters of the Government and Ruling Parties for Social Security Reform.

Jan 2011 The Headquarters of the Government and Ruling Parties decided the Basic Policy.

Apr 2011 The Working-level Panels on the Number System for Social Security and Taxation decided the Outline of the Social Security and Tax Number System.

Jun 2011 The working group on personal information protection under the Working-level Panels on the Number System for Social Security and Taxation undertook the following:

- Finalization of agendas which should be put on the outline regarding personal information protection measures for Social Security and Taxation;

- Publishing its report regarding personal information protection.

The Headquarters of the Government and Ruling Parties decided the Outline of the Social Security and Tax Number System.

Feb 2012 Three bills related to the Number System were decided by the Cabinet and submitted to the $ ^{180} $ th session of the Diet.

Mar 2013 In light of a consultation for changes in the bills between the ruling and opposition parties, the Cabinet resubmitted the four bills related to the Number System to the 183 $ ^{rd} $ session of the Diet.

May 2013 The four bills related to the Number System were passed and promulgated.

Oct 2013 The Cabinet Order that decided the establishment date of the Specific Personal Information Protection Commission and the Cabinet Order for its organization were promulgated.

Jan 2014 The Specific Personal Information Protection Commission was established.

The Number System is a system that all citizens use as a new social infrastructure.

On January 01, 2014, the Specific Personal Information Protection Commission was established to achieve a secure and safe Number System.

Chairman and Commissioners

Chairman	Masao Horibe	Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University
Commissioner	Takao Abe	Ex-Mayor of Kawasaki City
Commissioner	Minako Shimada	Ex-Executive Director of The Kao Foundation for Arts and Sciences
Commissioner (part-time)	Satoru Tezuka	Professor of the School of Computer Science at Tokyo University of Technology
Commissioner (part-time)	Hisakazu Kato	Professor of School of Political Science and Economics at Meiji University