Privacy Policy

Bangladeshi Students’ Support Association in Japan ("BSSAJ", "we", "us" or "our") operates the website https://bssaj.org and its related services, including our official social media pages. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and the choices and rights you have.

We handle personal information in accordance with Japan’s Act on the Protection of Personal Information (個人情報保護法, the “APPI”) and related guidelines issued by the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan. By using our website and services you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy.

Depending on how you use our services, we may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Account and profile information: your name, email address, phone number, password (stored only in hashed form), profile photo, address and study information.
• Membership, agency, committee and event/exam registration details that you submit through our forms.
• Content you submit: blog posts, comments, consultation requests, scam reports, support inquiries and any files or images you upload.
• Communications: messages you send us by email or through our forms.
• Technical and usage data: IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed and similar data collected automatically through cookies and server logs.

In accordance with Article 17 of the APPI, we use personal information only for the following purposes (利用目的):

• To create and manage accounts and memberships, and to verify identity and eligibility.
• To provide, operate and improve our services, including events, scholarships, jobs, consultations and certificate verification.
• To respond to inquiries and provide user support.
• To send service-related notices, confirmations, entry passes and, where permitted, announcements about our activities.
• To publish content that you have asked us to publish (for example approved blog posts and member or agency profiles).
• To maintain the security of our services and to prevent fraud or abuse.
• To comply with applicable laws and respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences (such as language) and understand how the site is used so we can improve it. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, although some features may not work properly without them.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not provide personal information to third parties except with your consent or as otherwise permitted or required under Article 27 of the APPI (for example, where required by law).

We use trusted third-party service providers (委託先) who process personal information on our behalf and only under our instructions, including: cloud hosting and infrastructure providers; object storage (Cloudflare R2); email delivery (SMTP) providers; and AI text-generation services used to prepare draft content. We require these providers to handle personal information appropriately and securely.

BSSAJ operates an official Facebook Page. We use Meta’s Graph API only to publish BSSAJ’s own content (such as approved blog posts and events) to our own Page, and to display links back to our website.

Our application does not collect, store or sell the personal information of Facebook users. Any access tokens used to post to our Page are stored securely and used solely for that purpose. If you have interacted with our Page and wish to have related data removed, please contact us using the details below and we will respond in accordance with the APPI and Meta’s platform policies.

Some of our service providers may store or process personal information on servers located outside Japan. Where personal information is transferred to a third party in a foreign country, we take the measures required under the APPI, including obtaining consent where necessary and ensuring that appropriate safeguards are in place.

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy, or for as long as required by applicable law. When personal information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it.

We take reasonable and appropriate organisational and technical measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, alteration and leakage. These include access controls, encryption in transit (HTTPS), hashed storage of passwords and restricted administrative access.

Subject to the APPI, you may request that we disclose, correct, add to, delete, or suspend the use of your retained personal information, or stop providing it to third parties. You may also withdraw consent that you have previously given.

To make a request, please contact us using the details in the “Contact Us” section below. We may need to verify your identity before responding, and we will respond within a reasonable period in accordance with the law.

Our services are intended for students and adults. If a user is a minor under the applicable law, we expect that a parent or guardian provides consent. If you believe we have collected information from a child without appropriate consent, please contact us so we can take appropriate action.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services or in applicable law. We will post the updated version on this page and revise the “Last updated” date above. Significant changes may be announced through our website or by email.

If you have any questions, requests or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact:

Bangladeshi Students’ Support Association in Japan (BSSAJ)

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Email: info@bssaj.org