Japan: Signed US-Japan digital trade agreement including prohibition on data localisation

On 7 September 2019, the US-Japan Digital Trade Agreement was signed. Article 12 of the Agreement establishes that no party shall require the localisation of computing facilities in a certain territory as a condition for conducting business. Article 13 specifies that this provision also applies to financial service suppliers, as long as the financial regulatory authority of a party is able to access the information on their transactions and operations for regulation and supervision purposes. The Agreement will enter into full force on 1 January 2020.