A government committee formalized a blueprint on Wednesday for basic legislation designed to protect personal information held by private organizations but explicitly exempting the media.
The legislation is intended to assist in regulating privacy in the Internet age, as various kinds of personal information are at risk of being circulated widely and quickly online without consent.
The report, which was handed to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori later in the day, calls for the exemption to also carry over to religious, academic and political groups to prevent the government from meddling in their activities.