The government's commission on protecting personal information says it received a record number of reports involving personal data leaks and losses by private businesses across Japan in the last fiscal year.



The government on Tuesday approved at a Cabinet meeting an annual report compiled by the Personal Information Protection Commission.



The commission said it was told of 19,056 such cases in fiscal 2024 ending in March. That's the most since it began the survey in fiscal 2017.



The cases include that of a list vendor fined for buying illegally leaked personal information that was part of a massive data leak by a former temp worker at a subsidiary of telecom firm NTT West. The leak had been carried out in 2023.
Another case involved issuance of an official certificate to the wrong person at a convenience store in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, due to an error linked to the My Number national ID system.



The commission said it issued a recommendation based on a personal information protection law and provided 395 pieces of guidance or advice.



The report also said the number of personal data leaks and losses related to the My Number system during the period was 2,052, up sixfold from the previous year.



The commission said it believes a single hacking case in a cyberattack led to numerous other leaks, resulting in the soaring number of cases.