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

On 1 January 2020, the US-Japan digital trade agreement entered into force. 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.