The purpose of this Act is to protect the rights and interests of individuals while ensuring the smooth and proper management of the processes or services of administrative entities as well as ensuring due consideration of the value of personal information and the fact that the proper and effective application of personal information contributes to the creation of new industries and the realization of a vibrant economic society and an enriched quality life of the Japanese public; by setting forth the basic principles for the proper handling of personal information, creating a governmental basic policy with regard to this, establishing other matters to serve as a basis for measures to protect personal information, and clarifying the responsibilities of the national and local governments and establishing obligations that businesses and administrative entities that handle personal information are required to fulfill in accordance with their circumstances, as well as establishing the Personal Information Protection Commission, in light of the significantly expanding utilization of personal information as digital society evolves.
この法律は、デジタル社会の進展に伴い個人情報の利用が著しく拡大していることに鑑み、個人情報の適正な取扱いに関し、基本理念及び政府による基本方針の作成その他の個人情報の保護に関する施策の基本となる事項を定め、国及び地方公共団体の責務等を明らかにし、個人情報を取り扱う事業者及び行政機関等についてこれらの特性に応じて遵守すべき義務等を定めるとともに、個人情報保護委員会を設置することにより、行政機関等の事務及び事業の適正かつ円滑な運営を図り、並びに個人情報の適正かつ効果的な活用が新たな産業の創出並びに活力ある経済社会及び豊かな国民生活の実現に資するものであることその他の個人情報の有用性に配慮しつつ、個人の権利利益を保護することを目的とする。