This Privacy Statement describes the policies that we have established in order to safeguard the privacy of Japan Times Book Club users. We handle the personal information of users of this site with utmost caution, operating in accordance with the basic guidelines below.

1. Scope of personal information
We define "personal information" as names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, cardholder names, and other information that makes it possible to identify specific individuals. (This definition excludes information that does not serve as a source for identification.)

2. Collection of personal information
When acquiring personal information, we state the intent, scope, and other details of our doing so. We use the personal information to perform membership registration, enhance the services on this site, and handle user payments.

3. Use of personal information
We do not use personal information for any purposes other than to facilitate user payments, provide user support, distribute our e-mail newsletter, offer support to content providers, and compile statistical data for product development.

4. Outsourcing of personal information handling
We reserve the right to outsource the handling of personal information to companies that perform system development or credit card payment processing. (In such cases, we will establish a privacy protection agreement with the relevant service provider.)

5. Sharing of personal information with third parties
We will never disclose or provide personal information to third parties except when the user's consent has been given or when it is necessary to do so in order to comply with a legal obligation placed on us by judicial or governmental authorities.

6. Additional information
We do not add to our personal information database any information that we discover through online activity or receive from third parties.

7. Management of personal information
We rigorously manage and protect the personal information of site users. We have established internal guidelines and a reasonable data management system as part of our constant efforts to keep personal information safe from loss, destruction, leakage, tampering, and unauthorized access. In the unlikely event that a problem does occur, we are prepared to make an immediate response. We also regularly host workshops for our employees and business associates in order to raise their awareness of the importance of safeguarding personal information.

8. Security
As a means of maintaining the confidentiality and security of the personal information collected through this site, we use SSL technology to encrypt user data for transmission, when necessary.

9. Access log
We maintain a log of visits to this site so that we can analyze that information and use what we learn to enhance user convenience and the quality of our services. The access log does not contain users’ names, addresses, or other personally identifiable information.

10. Use of cookies
This site uses cookies to provide a customized response to every user. Visitors can set up their Web browser to block or restrict cookies if so desired, but this will prevent them from accessing the services offered by this site.

11. E-mail newsletter subscription/cancellation
Users can subscribe to our e-mail newsletter by completing the registration procedures on the subscription page. To cancel a subscription, follow the instructions given in the newsletter.

12. Compliance
We comply with all laws and standards concerning the protection of personal information.

13. Handling of personal information by linked sites
We are not responsible for how personal information is handled by other sites linked to our site. Please be sure to read the privacy policy of any linked sites that you visit.

14. Changes to this statement
This Privacy Statement is subject to change in conjunction with alterations to the content of our services. Whenever a change occurs, we will post an updated version of this statement on our site.

15. Requests about personal information protection law
The Law Concerning Protection of Personal Information entitles Web site visitors to request notification, disclosure, correction, suspension of use, or other actions regarding their personal information. Such requests need to be made to the contact listed below. We process requests after confirming the requestor’s identity and receiving a completed request form (provided by us) from the requestor. In general, our response is made in writing several days following receipt of the request. We may charge a fee for the processing of disclosure requests. If our examination of a request shows that our information on the user is inaccurate, we will correct that information as needed.

16. Contact for personal information matters
We will make prompt, appropriate responses to all complaints and inquiries concerning our handling of personal information. Please direct such communications to the office below.
Publications Department
The Japan Times, Ltd.
Office hours: Noon - 6 p.m., Monday to Friday (excl. national holidays)
Inquiries: click here

17. Advertisements by Google AdSense We use Google AdSense on some pages to present advertisements. This service may use aggregated information (not including your name, email address, address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of your interest. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, please refer to the official privacy policy of Google AdSense; click here:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacy.html

It is our professional commitment to implement these policies for safeguarding the personal information of site users, comply with the laws and standards governing personal information, and constantly review and improve these policies.