Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) and its affiliates (“the APO,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) collect, use, and share users’ (“users,” “you,” or “your”) personal data in connection with the use of our websites ([replace with www.url.com]), services, and applications (collectively, “the Services”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to information our customers may process when using our Services.

We may collect and receive information on users of our Services from various sources, including: 1) information provided through user accounts on the Services (“your Account”) if they register for the Services; 2) their use of the Services; and 3) from third-party websites, services, and partners.

We recommend that all users read this Privacy Policy in full. The APO is the data controller of this privacy document and its related procedures. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the APO’s data collection, use, and disclosure practices, please contact us at apo@apo-tokyo.org.

1. Information Collected

Information Users Provide

1. Form When users fill out and confirm any form on the website, they may be asked for contact information, including name, company name, address, email address, telephone number, and other relevant personal data (if applicable) in the form of documents, multimedia content, or other material.
2. User Content. Users may post public content on our Services if they agree that their personal data and content posted may be viewed and used by other users and third parties the APO does not control.
3. If users contact us directly, we may receive additional information on them such as name, email address, phone number, contents of the message and/or attachments they may send us, and other information they may choose to provide. The APO may also receive confirmation when users open an email message from us.

Any additional information users are asked to provide, and the reason(s) for requesting it, will be clarified at the time of request.

Information Collected When Using Our Services

1. Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies. Like most websites, the APO website may collect certain user information automatically and store it in log files. In addition, some information may be collected automatically from users’ devices, including Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, clickstream data, landing page, and referring URL. To collect this information, a cookie may be placed on users’ computers or devices when they access our Services. Cookies contain a small amount of information that allows web servers to recognize users. We store information collected through cookies in log files to record users’ preferences. We may also automatically collect information on the use of specific features and functions of our Services, frequency of visits, and users’ interactions with the Services. Use across different websites and services may also be tracked. In some countries, including countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), the information referred to in this paragraph may be considered personal information under applicable data protection laws. Users may deny consent for cookie placement simply by visiting the preference panel of their web browsers.
2. Use of Our Services. Information on users’ engagement with and utilization of our Services may be collected, such as processor and memory used, storage capacity, navigation, and system-level metrics. These data are used to operate, maintain, and improve the performance and utilization of the Services; develop new features; protect the security and safety of our Services and users; and provide customer support. The data are also used to develop aggregate analyses and business intelligence to operate, protect, make informed decisions on, and report on the performance of our business.

2. How Information Collected Is Used

The information we collect is used in various ways, including to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain our Services;
• Improve, personalize, and expand our Services;
• Understand and analyze how individuals use our Services;
• Develop new products, services, features, and functions;
• Communicate with users, either directly or through our partners, including for customer service, providing updates and other information related to the Services, and for marketing and promotional purposes;
• Processing user transactions;
• Sending text messages and push notifications;
• Detecting and preventing fraud;
• Ensuring compliance, including enforcing the Terms of Service, or other legal rights, or as may be required by applicable laws and regulations or requested by any judicial process or governmental agency;
• Informing our internal organizations (member countries) of user participation in APO activities and use of the site; and
• Managing e-learning programs and improving user experience during participation in APO activities.

3. How We Share Information

We may share the information collected in various ways, including:

1. Service Providers. We may share information with third-party service providers for promotional and/or marketing purposes and to provide users with relevant information such as product announcements, software updates, special offers, or other information.
2. Aggregate Information. Where legally permissible, we may use and share information about users with our partners/member countries in aggregated or anonymous form that cannot be used to identify individuals.
3. Business Transfers. Information may be disclosed and otherwise transferred to any potential acquirer, successor, or assignee as part of any proposed merger, acquisition, debt financing, sale of assets, or similar transaction, or in the event of insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership in which information is transferred to one or more third parties as one of our business assets.
4. As Required By Law and Similar Disclosures. We may also share information to: 1) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; 2) enforce this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations thereof; 3) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; 4) respond to user requests; or 5) protect our rights, property, or safety and our users and the public. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and spam/malware prevention.

4. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Information

In accordance with data protection laws, our legal basis for collecting and using the personal information described above depends on the specific information concerned and the specific context in which it is collected.

However, personal information is collected from users only when: 1) it is needed to conclude a contract with users; 2) the collection is in our legitimate interest and not overridden by users’ rights; or 3) users consent to the collection. We have a legitimate interest in operating our Services and communicating with users as necessary to provide the Services, for example, when responding to queries, improving our platform, undertaking marketing, or detecting or preventing illegal activities.

In some cases, we may also have a legal obligation to collect personal information from users to protect their vital interest or that of another person.

If we request personal information to comply with a legal requirement or to conclude a contract, this will be clarified and users will be informed whether the provision of personal information is mandatory (as well as of the possible consequences if the information is not provided).

5. Third-party Services

Users may access third-party services through our Services, for example, by clicking on the links provided. We are not responsible for the privacy policies and/or practices of those third-party services, and we encourage users to carefully review their privacy policies. The APO uses social media and other third-party websites. In such cases, the third-party application may request an email address, username, password, and geographic location for account registration purposes. The APO does not use third-party websites to solicit and collect personal data from individuals. All personal data passively collected by third-party websites will not be transmitted or stored by the APO.

6. Security

The APO is committed to protecting users’ information. A variety of security technologies and measures designed to protect information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure are employed. The measures we use are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risk of processing your personal information. However, please remember that the Internet cannot be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information collected from users when there is an ongoing legitimate business need to do so (for example, to provide services requested or to comply with applicable legal, tax, or accounting requirements).

When there is no ongoing legitimate business need to process users’ personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it or, if this is not possible (for example, because the personal information has been stored in backup archives), then the personal information is stored securely and not subject to any further processing until deletion is possible.

8. Access

Users have full access rights to certain information associated with their accounts sent as email messages. If an account is terminated, any public activity on the account prior to deletion may remain stored on the APO’ servers and may remain accessible to the public.

To protect users’ privacy and security, we may also take reasonable steps to verify their identity before updating or removing their information. Any information users provide may be archived or stored periodically by the APO according to backup processes conducted in the ordinary course of business for disaster recovery purposes. Users’ ability to access and correct their information may be temporarily restricted when access and correction could: interfere with the APO’s ability to comply with a legal obligation; restrict the APO’s ability to investigate, make, or defend legal claims; result in disclosure of personal information on a third party; or result in a breach of contract or disclosure of trade secrets or other proprietary business information belonging to the APO or a third party.

9. Data Protection Rights under the APO Privacy Policy

Under this Privacy Policy framework, users have the following data protection rights:

If users wish to access, correct, update, or request deletion of personal information, they may do so at any time by emailing the APO.

In addition, users can object to the processing of personal information, request restriction on the processing of personal information, or request portability of personal information by emailing the APO.

Users have the right to opt out of marketing communications the APO sends at any time. They can exercise this right by clicking on the “unsubscribe” or “opt out” link in the marketing email messages sent. To opt out of other forms of marketing, please contact the APO via email.

Similarly, if users’ personal information was collected and processed with their consent, that consent can be withdrawn at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any prior processing conducted, nor will it affect the lawful processing of personal information conducted on grounds other than consent.

Users have the right to complain to a data protection authority about the APO’s collection and use of their personal information. For more information, please contact the APO via email at apo@apo-tokyo.org.

The APO responds to all requests received from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights under this policy.

10. Users’ Choices

Users can access some features of the Services without registering, thereby limiting the type of information that the APO collects.

Users may unsubscribe from receiving certain promotional email messages by simply following the instructions found at the end of the messages. After unsubscribing, the APO may still contact users for informational, transactional, account-related, or similar purposes.

Many browsers have an option for disabling cookies, which may prevent the acceptance of new cookies or enable the selective use of cookies. Please note that if users choose not to accept cookies, some features and the personalization of the Services may no longer be accessible. Users will continue to receive advertising material, but it will not be tailored to their interests.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be modified occasionally, so please review it frequently. Changes to this Privacy Policy will be posted on the APO’s websites. If we materially change the ways in which we use or share personal information previously collected from users through our Services, they will be notified through our Services, via email, or through other communication.

12. International Data Transfers

Users’ personal information may be transferred to countries other than the one in which the data were originally collected. Those countries may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which the information was initially provided. When the APO transfers users’ personal information to other countries, that information is protected as described in this Privacy Policy and in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

EU–US and Swiss–US Privacy Shield. In handling personal data received from the EEA and Switzerland, the APO complies with the EU–US Privacy Shield Framework and the Swiss–US Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the US Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal data from such countries.

Contact Us

For any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please feel free to contact the APO via email at apo@apo-tokyo.org.

Cookie Policy

As stated in the Privacy Policy, this website uses cookies.

Definition of cookies

A cookie is a small file sent to your browser and saved on your device when you visit a website. Cookies allow efficient operation of the site, improve its performance, and provide information to the site owner for statistical or advertising purposes, mainly to customize your browsing experience by remembering your preferences. The site uses different types of first-party and third-party cookies. Third-party cookies are prepared and managed by third parties based on their own privacy policies and are not under the control of the APO. Please see below for details.

Technical cookies (session or navigation) guarantee the normal navigation and use of the website and functions to optimize navigation within the site.

Functionality cookies are necessary to provide services explicitly requested by users.

Analytical first-/third-party cookies are used exclusively to collect information in an aggregate, anonymous form on the number of users and on how users access the site.

Enabling and disabling cookies from the browser

Most browsers are configured to accept, control, or disable cookies through settings. Please remember, however, that disabling cookies or navigation functions can cause unsatisfactory operation of the site and/or limit the services offered.

Third-party Cookies

The website currently includes the following third-party resources that use cookies:

• Google Analytics and Tags may be used to collect and analyze certain metric data from users’ session data and logs, such as IP addresses, duration of visits, devices used for visits, data inherent in the version of the web browser, and similar information. This information is collected anonymously, since it does not give specific data directly connected to an individual user. Google Analytics uses its own cookies.
  Site of data processing: USA, Privacy Policy, Opt-Out.

Right to withhold consent for cookie placement

Users may withhold consent for cookie placement simply by visiting the preference panel of the web browsers used to access the site. Please remember that refusing cookie placement may result in limitations on website use.