Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2 Apr 2026

Japan Hub respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect your personal information when you visit our website, place an order, create an account, contact our customer support team, subscribe to marketing communications or otherwise interact with Japan Hub.

This policy also explains your rights under applicable UK data protection law.

1. Who We Are

Japan Hub is the controller responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy Policy.

Our contact details are:

Japan Hub
Unit 14, Sakura Industrial Park
Birmingham, West Midlands
B32 8AA
United Kingdom

Email: support@japanhubofficial.com
WhatsApp: +44 7520 650 739

For privacy-related requests or complaints, please contact us using the email address above.

2. Laws That Apply to This Policy

We process personal information in accordance with applicable UK privacy and data protection legislation, including:

• The UK General Data Protection Regulation;

• The Data Protection Act 2018;

• The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003;

• The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025;

• Any other applicable laws, regulations or amendments relating to privacy, electronic communications and personal information.

3. Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with Japan Hub.

Information you provide directly

We may collect:

• Your full name;

• Billing and delivery addresses;

• Email address;

• Telephone or WhatsApp number;

• Account login details;

• Products ordered;

• Order numbers and transaction history;

• Delivery instructions;

• Messages sent to customer support;

• Return, refund and warranty information;

• Reviews, survey responses or feedback;

• Marketing preferences;

• Any other information you voluntarily provide to us.

Please do not provide sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for us to deal with a specific request.

Payment information

When you make a purchase, payment information may be collected and processed by our payment service providers.

Depending on the payment method selected, this may include:

• Cardholder name;

• Payment card details;

• Bank or payment account information;

• Billing address;

• Payment authorisation information;

• Fraud prevention and verification information.

Japan Hub does not normally store complete payment card details. These are generally processed securely by the payment provider selected during checkout.

Information collected automatically

When you visit or use our website, we and our service providers may automatically collect:

• Internet Protocol address;

• Browser type and version;

• Device type;

• Operating system;

• Language and regional settings;

• Time zone;

• Pages viewed;

• Products viewed or added to a basket;

• Referring website or advertisement;

• Dates and times of visits;

• Website interaction information;

• Cookie identifiers;

• Approximate location derived from your IP address;

• Technical and diagnostic information;

• Information used to detect fraud, misuse or security threats.

Information received from other sources

We may receive information from:

• Payment providers;

• Delivery and logistics companies;

• E-commerce and website hosting providers;

• Advertising and social media platforms;

• Analytics providers;

• Fraud prevention and identity verification services;

• Customer service platforms;

• Suppliers and fulfilment partners;

• Publicly available sources, where legally permitted.

4. How We Use Personal Information

We may use your personal information to:

Process and deliver orders

This includes:

• Confirming your purchase;

• Processing payments;

• Preparing and dispatching products;

• Providing delivery updates;

• Communicating with delivery providers;

• Managing customs or import requirements where applicable;

• Handling returns, replacements, cancellations and refunds.

Provide customer support

We use information to:

• Respond to questions;

• Resolve delivery or product issues;

• Investigate complaints;

• Verify order details;

• Communicate by email, telephone or WhatsApp;

• Maintain records of customer service conversations.

Operate and improve our website

We may use information to:

• Maintain website functionality;

• Remember basket contents and preferences;

• Analyse website performance;

• Understand how visitors use the website;

• Improve navigation, products and services;

• Diagnose technical problems;

• Test new features.

Prevent fraud and protect our business

We may use information to:

• Verify transactions;

• Detect suspicious activity;

• Prevent payment fraud;

• Protect customer accounts;

• Enforce our terms and policies;

• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims;

• Protect the security of our website, customers and service providers.

Send marketing communications

Where legally permitted, we may use your contact information to send:

• Product announcements;

• Promotional offers;

• Discount codes;

• Abandoned basket reminders;

• Back-in-stock alerts;

• News about Japan Hub;

• Personalised advertising.

You may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe option included in an email or by contacting us.

Comply with legal obligations

We may use and retain information where necessary to:

• Keep tax and accounting records;

• Respond to lawful requests from authorities;

• Meet consumer protection obligations;

• Investigate fraud or illegal activity;

• Comply with court orders;

• Resolve disputes;

• Comply with applicable laws and regulations.

5. Our Lawful Bases for Processing

We only process personal information where we have a lawful basis to do so.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following lawful bases:

Performance of a contract

We process information when necessary to:

• Accept and manage an order;

• Process payment;

• Deliver products;

• Provide order updates;

• Handle returns and refunds;

• Provide services requested by you.

Without certain information, such as your delivery address and contact details, we may be unable to fulfil your order.

Legal obligation

We may process information where necessary to comply with tax, accounting, consumer protection, law enforcement or other legal requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may process information where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.

These interests may include:

• Preventing fraud;

• Securing our website;

• Improving our products and services;

• Managing customer relationships;

• Responding to enquiries;

• Defending legal claims;

• Understanding business performance;

• Protecting Japan Hub against misuse;

• Conducting certain direct marketing activities where permitted by law.

Consent

We may rely on your consent for activities such as:

• Certain marketing communications;

• Non-essential cookies;

• Advertising technologies;

• Optional personalisation features.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies, including pixels, tags, scripts, local storage and other device-access technologies.

These technologies may be used to:

• Keep the website functioning;

• Operate the shopping basket and checkout;

• Remember preferences;

• Maintain security;

• Prevent fraud;

• Measure website traffic;

• Analyse customer behaviour;

• Personalise content;

• Measure advertising performance;

• Show relevant advertising.

Some technologies are necessary for the website to function and may not require consent.

Where consent is legally required, non-essential cookies and similar technologies will not be activated until you have provided your permission through our cookie controls.

You may change your cookie preferences through the cookie settings available on our website. You may also adjust your browser settings, although blocking certain cookies may affect website functionality.

For further details, please refer to our separate Cookie Policy, where available.

7. Marketing Communications

We may send electronic marketing where:

• You have given your consent;

• You have purchased or shown an interest in similar products and the law permits us to contact you;

• Another lawful basis applies.

Every promotional email will include a method for unsubscribing.

You may also withdraw your marketing permission by contacting:

support@japanhubofficial.com

Stopping marketing communications will not prevent us from sending essential service messages, such as order confirmations, delivery updates, security notices or responses to customer service enquiries.

8. Personalised Advertising

Subject to your cookie choices and applicable law, we may work with advertising platforms to show advertisements that may be more relevant to you.

These platforms may use information such as:

• Cookie identifiers;

• Device information;

• Website interactions;

• Products viewed;

• Purchases;

• Hashed contact details;

• Advertising identifiers.

Advertising partners may act as independent controllers for some of their processing. Their use of personal information will be governed by their own privacy notices.

You may manage advertising cookies using our cookie preference controls.

9. Abandoned Basket Communications

Where legally permitted, we may use information provided during checkout to remind you about products left in your basket.

You may opt out of promotional abandoned basket messages at any time. Operational messages that are necessary to complete or clarify a transaction may still be sent where appropriate.

10. How We Share Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information in the ordinary meaning of selling information in exchange for money.

We may share information with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business, including:

Website and e-commerce providers

Providers that host, maintain or operate our website, checkout, product catalogue, customer accounts and order management systems.

Payment providers

Banks, card processors, digital wallet providers, instalment payment providers and fraud prevention services involved in processing or verifying payments.

Suppliers and fulfilment partners

Manufacturers, distributors, warehouses and fulfilment partners that prepare, package or dispatch orders.

Only the information reasonably necessary to fulfil an order should be shared with these partners.

Delivery providers

Couriers, postal services, freight companies, customs agents and tracking providers involved in delivering your order.

Technology and customer service providers

Providers of:

• Email services;

• Customer support systems;

• WhatsApp or messaging services;

• Data storage;

• Cybersecurity;

• Analytics;

• Website optimisation;

• Review collection;

• Business administration.

Advertising and analytics providers

We may share limited information with advertising, analytics and social media platforms, subject to your cookie preferences and applicable law.

Professional advisers

Information may be shared with accountants, auditors, insurers, legal advisers and other professional consultants where necessary.

Government and regulatory authorities

We may disclose information where required by law, court order or a valid request from a public authority.

Business transfers

If Japan Hub is sold, reorganised, merged or transfers part of its business, personal information may be disclosed to relevant advisers, potential purchasers or successor organisations.

Any recipient will be required to handle the information in accordance with applicable data protection law.

11. International Transfers

Some of our suppliers, fulfilment partners, technology providers and other service providers may be located outside the United Kingdom, including in Europe and Asia.

As a result, personal information may be transferred to or accessed from countries that may have different data protection laws from the United Kingdom.

Where required, we will use appropriate safeguards, which may include:

• Transfers to countries recognised by the UK as providing adequate protection;

• Approved contractual protections;

• The UK International Data Transfer Agreement;

• The UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses;

• Additional technical and organisational safeguards;

• Another lawful transfer mechanism.

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information transferred internationally remains appropriately protected.

12. How Long We Retain Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

Retention periods depend on:

• The type of information;

• The purpose for which it was collected;

• Legal and accounting requirements;

• Fraud prevention needs;

• Warranty and consumer rights periods;

• The likelihood of a dispute;

• Our legitimate business needs.

Order, payment, customer service and accounting records may be retained for several years after a transaction where necessary to meet tax, accounting, consumer protection or legal obligations.

Marketing information will normally be retained until you unsubscribe, withdraw consent or we determine that it is no longer necessary.

Cookie retention periods vary depending on the type and purpose of the cookie.

When information is no longer required, we will delete it, anonymise it or securely restrict its use, unless continued retention is required by law.

13. How We Protect Personal Information

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect personal information against:

• Unauthorised access;

• Accidental loss;

• Misuse;

• Alteration;

• Disclosure;

• Destruction.

These measures may include:

• Access controls;

• Secure payment processing;

• Encryption where appropriate;

• Authentication measures;

• System monitoring;

• Restricted staff and provider access;

• Security updates;

• Fraud detection procedures;

• Contractual confidentiality and data protection obligations.

No online service or electronic storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should use strong passwords and avoid sharing account credentials with anyone.

14. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the following rights:

Right to be informed

You have the right to receive clear information about how we use your personal information.

Right of access

You may request confirmation of whether we process your personal information and ask for a copy of that information.

Right to rectification

You may request that inaccurate or incomplete personal information be corrected.

Right to erasure

You may request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances.

This right is not absolute. We may need to retain information to comply with the law, resolve disputes, prevent fraud or establish legal claims.

Right to restrict processing

You may ask us to limit how we use your personal information in certain circumstances.

Right to data portability

Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive certain information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

Right to object

You may object to processing based on legitimate interests in certain circumstances.

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

Right to withdraw consent

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Rights relating to automated decisions

Where applicable, you may have rights relating to decisions made solely by automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects.

You may request information about the decision and, where required by law, request human involvement, express your point of view or challenge the decision.

15. Exercising Your Rights

To exercise a data protection right, contact:

Email: support@japanhubofficial.com

Please include:

• Your full name;

• The email address associated with your account or order;

• Your order number, where relevant;

• A clear description of your request.

We may need to ask for additional information to verify your identity and protect your information from unauthorised disclosure.

We will respond within the period required by applicable law. Some complex or multiple requests may require additional time, in which case we will inform you.

We will not normally charge a fee for exercising your rights. However, where legally permitted, we may charge a reasonable fee or refuse a request that is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

16. Privacy Complaints

You may submit a complaint about how we collect, use, disclose or protect your personal information by contacting:

Email: support@japanhubofficial.com
WhatsApp: +44 7520 650 739

Please use the subject line:

Data Protection Complaint

We will:

• Provide an accessible method for submitting the complaint;

• Acknowledge receipt within 30 days;

• Investigate the matter fairly;

• Respond without undue delay;

• Inform you of the outcome and any action taken.

We would appreciate the opportunity to resolve your concern directly.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your personal information has been processed unlawfully. You do not need to contact us before approaching the Information Commissioner’s Office, although resolving the matter directly may be quicker.

17. WhatsApp and Other Communication Platforms

When you contact us through WhatsApp or another third-party communication service, the platform provider may process information about you under its own privacy policy.

Depending on the platform, this may include:

• Your telephone number;

• Profile information;

• Message content;

• Device and connection information;

• Communication metadata.

Please avoid sending full payment card details or other unnecessary sensitive information through messaging services.

We may retain relevant customer service messages where necessary to handle an order, resolve a dispute, prevent fraud or comply with legal obligations.

18. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our website may contain links to external websites, social media platforms, payment providers or other third-party services.

Japan Hub does not control the privacy practices of independent third parties. You should review their privacy notices before providing personal information.

This Privacy Policy applies only to personal information processed by or on behalf of Japan Hub.

19. Children’s Privacy

Our website and products are not specifically directed at children.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children where parental or guardian authorisation is legally required.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information improperly, contact us at support@japanhubofficial.com so that we can investigate and take appropriate action.

20. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• Changes to our business;

• New website features;

• Changes to service providers;

• Legal or regulatory developments;

• Changes to how we process personal information.

The updated version will be published on our website with a revised “Last updated” date.

Where a change materially affects your rights or how we use your information, we will provide additional notice where required by law.

21. Contact Us

For questions, rights requests or complaints relating to this Privacy Policy, contact:

Japan Hub

Email: support@japanhubofficial.com
WhatsApp: +44 7520 650 739

Postal address:
Unit 14, Sakura Industrial Park
Birmingham, West Midlands
B32 8AA
United Kingdom