Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures

If a person who is engaged or was engaged in processes related to a Process Using an Individual Number, etc. or in the designation or notification of Individual Numbers under the provisions of Article 7, paragraph (1) or (2) of this Act, in the generation or notification of the number to be an Individual Number under the provisions of Article 8, paragraph (2), or in the provision of Identity Confirmation Information Retained by the Agency, etc. under the provisions of Article 14, paragraph (2) provides, without justifiable grounds, Specific Personal Information Files containing information classified as individual secrets that were handled in the course of the operation (including Specific Personal Information Files of which all or part is copied or processed), this person is punished by imprisonment for four years or less, by a fine of two million yen or less, or by both.

If the person specified in the preceding Article provides or misappropriates the Individual Numbers that same person has learnt in the course of the operation for the purpose of acquiring an unlawful economic benefit for the same or a third party or of causing damage to the person themselves or another person, said person is punished by imprisonment for three years or less, by a fine of one million five hundred thousand yen or less, or by both.

A person who, in violation of the provisions of Article 25 (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 26), leaks or steals any secrets is punished by imprisonment for three years or less, by a fine of one million five hundred thousand yen or less, or by both.

If Individual Numbers are obtained by deceiving, assaulting, or intimidating a person or, by stealing or damaging property, trespassing on a facility, intercepting wire telecommunications, hacking (which means an act of unauthorized access as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Act on Prohibition of Unauthorized Computer Access (Act No. 128 of 1999)) or committing any other act harmful to the management of an Individual Number holder, the person who committed said violation is punished by imprisonment for three years or less or by a fine of one million five hundred thousand yen or less.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not preclude application of the Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907) and other penal provisions.

If an official of a national government organ, local government agency, or the Agency, or an officer or an official of an incorporated administrative agency, etc. or a local incorporated administrative agency (including a consular officer who is not any of these persons), in an abuse of authority, collects documents, pictures or electric or magnetic records (meaning a record created in electronic form, magnetic form, or any other form that cannot be perceived by human senses) containing Specific Personal Information classified as individual secret for an exclusive purpose of using it in something other than their work, said person is punished by imprisonment for two years or less or by a fine of one million yen or less.

A person who, in violation of the provisions of Article 38-3-2, leaks any secrets is punished by imprisonment for two years or less or by a fine of one million yen or less.

A person who, in violation of the provisions of Article 45-2, paragraph (3) of this Act, leaks or steals any secrets is punished by imprisonment for two years or less, by a fine of one million yen or less, or by both.

If an order under the provisions of Article 34, paragraph (2) or (3) is violated, the person who committed the violation is punished by imprisonment for two years or less or by a fine of five hundred thousand yen or less.

If an order under the provisions of Article 34, paragraph (2) or (3) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 21-2, paragraph (8) or Article 45-2, paragraph (9) is violated, the person who committed the violation is punished by imprisonment for one year or less or by a fine of five hundred thousand yen or less.

If a person fails to submit the report or materials under the provisions of Article 35, paragraph (1) of this Act, makes a false report, submits false materials, or fails to answer or replies with a false answer to the questions asked by officials in question, or refuses, obstructs, or avoids an inspection, the person who committed the violation is punished by imprisonment for one year or less or by a fine of five hundred thousand yen or less.

If a person receives the delivery of an Individual Number Card or the issuance of a Card Substitute Electronic Record by deception or other wrongful means, the person who committed the violation is punished by imprisonment for six months or less or by a fine of five hundred thousand yen or less.

If a person fails to submit the report or materials under the provisions of Article 35, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 21-2, paragraph (8) or Article 45-2, paragraph (9), makes a false report, submits false materials, or fails to answer or replies with a false answer to the questions asked by officials in question, or refuses, obstructs, or avoids an inspection, the person who committed the violation is punished by a fine of three hundred thousand yen or less.

When any of the following items applies, an officer or employee of the Agency who has committed the violation is punished by a fine of not more than 300,000 yen.

when, in violation of the provisions of Article 38-4, books have not been kept, entries have not been made in the books or false entries have been made in the books, or the books have not been preserved;

when the report or materials under the provisions of Article 38-7, paragraph (1) have not been submitted, a false report has been made or false materials have been submitted, or no answer has been given or a false answer has been given to the questions under the provisions of that paragraph, or the inspection under the provisions of that paragraph has been refused, obstructed or avoided.

The provisions of Articles 48 through 52-3 and Article 55 also apply to a person who commits the crimes under those Articles outside Japan.

If the representative or administrator of a corporation (including an organization that is not a corporation and that has a designated representative or administrator; hereinafter the same applies in this paragraph), or an agent, employee or other worker of a corporation or individual, commits a violation of the provisions listed in any of the following items with regard to the business of that corporation or individual, not only is the offender punished, but the corporation is also subject to the fine prescribed in the relevant item and the individual to the fine prescribed in the relevant Article.

Article 48, Article 49 and Article 53: a fine of one hundred million yen or less; and

Article 51 and Articles 53-2 through 55-2: the fine prescribed in the relevant Article.

If the provisions of the preceding paragraph are applied to an organization without legal personality, its representatives or administrators represent the organization without legal personality for the procedural action, and the provisions of the laws concerning criminal actions with a corporation as the accused or the suspect apply mutatis mutandis.