The House of Representatives on Tuesday began debating a package of controversial bills the government says will protect individuals' private information, as well as a counterproposal jointly submitted by four opposition parties.
The government's bills were initially submitted to last year's Diet session but were scrapped in the face of criticism that the legislation would restrict press freedom.
The government revised the proposed laws, dropping the contentious "five basic principles," which included the requirements that all parties handling personal information "clarify the purpose" of its use and acquire information in "an appropriate manner." Maximum fines of 1 million yen or imprisonment of up to two years will be slapped on government employees who unduly provide personal information to others.