Information Breaches Hit Record High in FY 2023

Jiji Press

17:36 JST, June 11, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The number of personal information breaches in Japan in fiscal 2023 rose 58% from a year earlier to a record high of 12,120 cases, a government agency said Tuesday.

Operators handling personal information were required to make efforts to report on data breaches under the personal information protection law, starting in fiscal 2017. In fiscal 2022, the report became mandatory.

In fiscal 2023, which ended last March, the number of information breaches involving My Number identification numbers reported under the My Number law climbed 95% to 334 cases, the Personal Information Protection Commission said.

The increases in My Number information breaches and overall cases both reflected the frequent occurrence of human errors, the commission said.