Handling of Personal Information  Privacy Statement

  1. Berlitz Japan shall strictly abide by relevant legislation related to personal information protection, such as the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, and obligations set forth in guidelines issued by the relevant minister, in addition to the terms of this Policy when handling personal information (refers to any information about a living individual which can identify the specific individual or that includes an individual identification code, hereinafter same).
  2. Berlitz Japan shall specify the purpose of use of personal information as much as possible and shall use it within the scope of the purposes of use, except in cases that the prior consent of the relevant person (“relevant person” is defined hereinafter as the specific individual identified by personal information) has been received in advance; and excluding cases provided by law as exceptions.
  3. Berlitz Japan shall only obtain personal information through lawful means and shall, excluding cases provided by law as exceptions, publicly announce the purpose of use in advance, or notify the relevant person of the purpose of use or publicly announce the purpose of use promptly after obtaining such information. However, when personal information is acquired from written documents directly from the relevant person, Berlitz Japan will expressly notify the relevant person of the purpose of use in advance
  4. Berlitz Japan shall endeavor to maintain the personal data handled ("personal data handled" is defined hereinafter as the personal information comprising a personal information database, etc. and "personal information database, etc." is defined hereinafter as a collection of information, including personal information, which is designated by government ordinance as something systematically structured so as to ensure easy retrievability of specific personal information, such as an electronic database) so that it is accurate and up to date within the scope of the purposes of use, shall take necessary/appropriate measures for security management and shall supervises its employees and contractors in the handling of personal information.
  5. Berlitz Japan shall not, excluding cases provided by law as exceptions, disclose or provide to third parties any personal data of the relevant person without their prior consent.
  6. Berlitz Japan will respond to requests for the disclosure, etc. of personal data retained by Berlitz Japan based on applicable law ("Personal data retained" is defined as personal data which Berlitz Japan has its authority to disclose, correct, add or delete the contents of, cease utilization of, erase, and cease the third-party provision of ("disclosure, etc.." hereinafter), excluding data which might harm public or other interests if its presence or absence is known).
  7. Berlitz Japan shall promptly and appropriately deal with complaints regarding the handling of personal information and endeavor to develop an in-house framework for that purpose.
  8. Berlitz Japan currently has agreements with several online business partners in order to manage and optimize our internet-based business and communications. Additionally, we utilize the services of an external marketing company in order to gauge how effective our marketing has been and determine how people are using the website. In order to achieve this, we use cookies provided by the marketing company to perform integrated website analysis. The type of information collected by Berlitz Japan includes which pages were visited. Coupled with our records, this shows us information such as which pages visitors found interesting, what products customers were attracted to, and which applications they favored. While the marketing company collects this information obtained from our website, Berlitz Japan is responsible for how the data is managed.

Public Announcement Issued in Accordance with the Act on the Protection of Personal Information

Business Operator Handling Personal Information

Nishi-Shinjuku Showa Bldg.,7F
1-13-12, Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Berlitz Japan, Inc.
CEO: GAMBLE Paul William
Dec. 1, 2022

Berlitz Japan, Inc., hereby announces matters related to the purposes of use of obtained personal information and retained personal data, the provision of personal data to third parties, procedures regarding requests for disclosure, etc., of retained personal data, and reception of complaints regarding the handling of personal information based on the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, Policy on the Protection of Personal Information (Cabinet decision), Cabinet Order to Enforce the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, and guidelines issued by the relevant minister based on the Act on the Protection of Personal Information.

Personal information related to employment management, such as the personal information of Berlitz Japan employees and others, does not fall under the provisions of this public announcement.

Matters Publicly Announced

1. Purposes of Use of Personal Information and Retained Personal Data

The purposes of use of the personal information obtained directly by Berlitz Japan from the relevant person through a means other than writing (including websites), personal information obtained indirectly, and retained personal data are listed under B) in relation to the operations listed under A).

(A) Operations in which the information will be used
(ⅰ) Foreign language lessons.
(ⅱ) Language training taken at companies.
(ⅲ) Tests, such as GTEC.
(ⅳ) Language training provided overseas or introductory activities for it.
(ⅴ) Other operations related to or incidental to the above items.

(B) Purpose of use
(ⅰ) To provide products and services in response to orders.
(ⅱ) To provide guidance/information on company products and services.
(ⅲ) To prepare questionnaires and surveys, in addition to statistical and marketing materials.
(ⅳ) To use in research, planning, and development related to Berlitz Japan operations.
(ⅴ) To outsource duties in the various processes (including the planning, development, production, marketing, sales promotion, sales, and delivery of products and services), and to request cooperation in operations monitoring.
(ⅵ) To perform information management related to payments and billing as required by laws and regulations.

(ⅶ) To manage scheduling, curriculum, and learning histories required for the provision of lessons or sessions (including demo lessons, trial sessions and counseling etc.).
(ⅷ) To record lessons or sessions (including audio and video recordings) for the purpose of quality improvement (including demo lessons, trial sessions counseling etc.).
(ⅸ) To distribute behavioral-targeting advertisements using ad-serving providers such as Google and Yahoo (Note 2 and 3).
(Ⅹ) To analyze attribute information and behavioral histories, etc.. which we obtained in order to understand customers' interests and preferences, etc. (Note 3).
(Ⅺ) Other purposes related to or incidental to the above items.

  • (Note 1): Berlitz Japan shall, in principle, clearly state separately the purposes of use of personal information obtained directly from the relevant person in writing (including websites)
  • (Note 2): We analyze information obtained from our customers, such as website-viewing histories and purchase histories to provide services and distribute advertisements.


(Note 3): We may use information obtained from third parties other than our company, such as customers' interests, preferences and browsing histories, etc.., by linking the information with personal information which we retain about our customers. In such cases, we shall obtain prior consent from our customers and use such information within the scope of the purposes of use listed above.

2. Matters regarding provision of data to third parties

(1) Berlitz Japan shall properly control the personal data it retains and shall not, excluding cases provided by law as exceptions, provide such personal data to third parties without receiving the consent of the relevant person in advance

(2) Berlitz Japan shall, in the case of joint use of personal data with a specified third party, directly notify the relevant person or publicly announce by posting on its website the fact that the personal data will be used jointly by the specified party, the items of personal data that will be jointly used, the party who will be jointly using the data, the purposes of use by that party, and the name of the person responsible for managing the said personal data at that party.

(3) When providing lessons or sessions, Berlitz Japan may share the necessary information (name, lesson history and recording of an online lesson or session, etc.) with the outsourced service provider or Group company to which the instructor belongs located domestically or overseas. We shall not provide personal information to third parties outside of Japan without obtaining the prior consent from the relevant person, except in cases provided by law as an exception.

    3. Management of personal information

    Berlitz Japan properly manages personal information which our customers entrust with us, implements in-house training to our employees and takes necessary security management measures to prevent leakage, loss, falsification, etc. Specifically, we take the following measures. 

    (Establishment of “Personal Information Protection Guidelines”) 
    Berlitz Japan, in order to ensure the proper handling of personal data, has established “Personal Information Protection Guidelines”, including “Compliance with related laws, ordinances and guidelines, etc.." and " Contact points for responding to inquiries and complaints”.

    (Establishment of rules handling personal data)
    Berlitz Japan has established guidelines that stipulate the basic rules for handling personal data such as obtainment, use, storage and etc.

    (Organizational security management measures)
    Berlitz Japan has appointed a person responsible for the handling of personal data and has established a contact point for reporting accidents and other incidents. Self-inspections are conducted on a regular basis and the responsible person ensures that personal data is being handled appropriately. 

    (Personnel security management measures)
    Berlitz Japan implements training to our employees on a regular basis with regard to points of attention in handling personal data. Confidentiality of personal data is stipulated in our Work Rules.

    (Physical security management measures)
    Berlitz Japan implements anti-theft measures and encryption for its devices and electronic media which handle personal data. We clearly identify devices which can handle personal data as well as employees who handle such devices to prevent unauthorized access to personal data.

    (Technical security management measures)
    Berlitz Japan implements access control to restrict the scope of employees in charge of handling personal data and that of the personal information database, etc. to be handled. The mechanism is in place to protect the information systems which handle personal data from unauthorized accesses from outside or unauthorized software.

    (Grasping the external environment)
    Berlitz Japan, when providing personal data to companies in foreign countries, confirms systems for protecting personal information in those countries, and takes necessary security management measures. Please refer to the website below for information on systems for protecting personal information in major countries.

    (The website of the Personal Information Protection Commission: Survey of systems for protecting personal information in foreign countries) https://www.ppc.go.jp/personalinfo/legal/kaiseihogohou/

      4. Contact point for matters related to the handling of personal information

      (1) Requests for notification of purposes of use, disclosure, correction, addition, removal, deletion, suspension of use, suspension of provision to third parties or for provision of information on security management measures; or complaints regarding the handling of personal information should be addressed to the following contact:

      Contact number for matters related to the handling of personal information
      Tel:0120-5-109-23(Please follow voice guidance and press 2 if you are a current student.)

      • Note 1: No request made in person at Berlitz Japan offices or language centers will be accepted.
      • Note 2: Separate regulations govern matters provided in 1 and 2 above in relation to executives and employees (including applicants to all positions and retired employees and executives) of Berlitz Japan. Please inquire at the contact number above regarding the handling of such personal information

      (2) Name of Authorized Personal Information Protection Organization where complaints regarding the handling of personal information are to be addressed

      Berlitz Japan is not affiliated with any authorized personal information protection organization at the present time.

      5. Other matters

      Calls to our free call number (0120-5-109-23) are recorded for operator training and quality improvement purposes

      Handling of browsing histories, etc.

      Berlitz Japan, Inc.

      Berlitz Japan, Inc. obtains and uses information listed as below when our customers access websites from their computers, cell phones or other terminals (hereinafter "browsing histories, etc."). However, such information does not include any information which can identify an individual.

      Information which identifies your terminal

      The environment of your device (provider, terminal environment, etc.).

      Records of your browsing and use of our website.

      Identification information distributed to us when you use services provided by other companies with which Berlitz Japan collaborates.

      *In this case, Berlitz Japan may distribute identification information to services of other companies with which we collaborate.

      Location information obtained from cell phones, etc.

      * We shall obtain the information upon your consent.

      Your browsing histories, etc., which in some cases we obtain and use upon a prior consent from you, are mainly recorded automatically through cookies, etc. (*1) when you use websites.

      We use your browsing histories to save you time for browsing and using a website when you visit it again, to research and develop services, and to provide you websites with advertisements and services matching your interests and preferences.

      You can deactivate or delete cookies by changing the settings on your browser. However, we recommend that you keep cookies enabled, as deactivating or deleting cookies may cause reduced convenience when you use the site, inability to use services or other problems.

      *1 Cookies, etc. refers to a mechanism for recording your browsing histories, etc. when you use websites. The mechanism includes cookies, web beacons and Shared Objects.

      Use of behavioral targeting advertising provided by internet advertising companies

      Berlitz Japan may use behavioral targeting advertising provided by internet advertising companies. This is an online advertising mechanism in which advertising companies use cookies, etc. to obtain browsing histories, etc. to distribute advertisements on our and other companies' websites. However, these browsing histories, etc. do not contain any personally identifiable information. We shall not use them for any purpose other than the distribution of advertisements.

      If you wish to opt-out from receiving targeted advertising from the aforementioned Internet advertising companies, please do so using the following methods:

      (1) Opt out from receiving ads using Advertising Option icon

      Clicking the icon at the top-right of displayed ads will take you to the relevant linked website where you can opt out of the interest-based advertising that you received.

      (2) Opt out of ads served by affiliated advertising companies

      If you wish to opt-out from behavioral advertising from affiliated companies, please do so by following the instructions given by internet advertising companies listed below:

      Google https://www.google.co.jp/policies/technologies/ads/
      Yahoo https://btoptout.yahoo.co.jp/optout/preferences.html
      Facebook https://ja-jp.facebook.com/help/109378269482053
      LINE https://terms.line.me/line_rules_optimize?lang=ja
      Instagram https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875