The House of Councilors enacted into law on Friday a bill amendment to make it easier for businesses to use personal information while toughening penalties for data abuse.
The amendment to Japan's privacy protection law allows businesses to use personal data without the consent of relevant individuals as long as the data are processed to remove names and other details that can help identify someone.
It came in response to requests by businesses to use the massive volumes of data they collect, known as "big data."
The amendment also includes penalties for private data leaks for profit and requires the government to set up a watchdog for the protection of private information that will be empowered to undertake searches.