A business operator must retain information for electronic transactions for seven years (Art. 10, Act on Special Provisions concerning Preservation Methods for Books and Documents Related to National Tax Prepared by Means of Computers (Act No. 25 of 1998).
A business operator who uses e-mail for advertising must preserve documents that evidence consent from receivers to send such email prior to the transmission (Art. 3.2), Act on Regulation of the Transmission of Specified Electronic Mail (Act No. 26 of 2002).

Japan's Act on the Limitation of Liability for Damages of Specified Telecommunications Service Providers and the Right to Demand Disclosure of Identification Information of the Senders establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 3 of the Act, no Internet service provider (ISP) may be held liable for failing to delete infringing content. Furthermore, the Act also shields ISPs from the liability for any damage caused by the deletion of content on its network if the ISP reasonably believes that the content infringes the intellectual property rights or privacy of others or if a third party alleges infringement and the content sender does not respond to the ISP's inquiry within seven days.

The Unfair Competition Prevention Law (Law No. 47 of 1993) provides a framework for the effective protection of trade secrets. A ‘trade secret’ is defined in the law as a production method, sales method, or any other technical or operational information useful for business activities that are kept secret and are not publicly known (Art. 2). According to Art. 3 of the law, those businesses or persons whose business interests have been, or are threatened to be, infringed on by misappropriation or illegal disclosure shall have the right to seek an injunction. The Unfair Competition Prevention Act provides civil and criminal remedies in such cases where secret information about the company is stolen or disclosed illegally. To protect information according to the Act, companies need to manage such data as “trade secrets”.

Japan's Act on the Limitation of Liability for Damages of Specified Telecommunications Service Providers and the Right to Demand Disclosure of Identification Information of the Senders establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Art. 3 of the Act, no Internet service provider (ISP) may be held liable for failing to delete infringing content. Furthermore, the Act also shields ISPs from the liability for any damage caused by the deletion of content on its network if the ISP reasonably believes that the content infringes the intellectual property rights or privacy of others or if a third party alleges infringement and the content sender does not respond to the ISP's inquiry within seven days.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Japan to deliver telecom services to end users.

Act for the Prevention of Illegal Mobile Phone Use requires mobile voice communication carriers to verify the identity of subscribers when a contract is terminated or transferred.

According to Arts. 4-6 of the Act on Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (Act No. 85 of 1984), foreigners' aggregate ownership cannot exceed one-third of the aggregate voting rights of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), which holds all the issued shares of NTT-East and NTT-West.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) is incorporated under the Act on Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, etc. (Act No. 85 of 1984) (NTT Act). NTT, being the incumbent in the telecommunications industry, is partly owned by the Japanese government with 36% of its stock.

It is reported that Japan mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

Under the Radio Act (Act No. 131 of 1950), the allocation of the spectrum is at the discretion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), based on consultation with the Radio Regulatory Council and consideration of plans submitted by the operators. The MIC's decision-making has been criticised as arbitrary and opaque. The Act was amended in May 2019 to adopt what is called a "partial auction system," whereby the MIC considers the amount of special fees submitted by the applicant based on their own valuation of the spectrum, although it is not a decisive element. In 2015, the MIC allocated spectrum appropriate for 4G to NTT DOCOMO, KDDI, and Softbank. In 2019, the 5G spectrum was allocated to NTT DOCOMO, KDDI, Softbank, and Rakuten Mobile.
It reported that "several current spectrum allocations create bands unique to Japan (e.g., for self-driving vehicles) that prevent foreign technologies from functioning in Japan."

Japan has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Japan has a telecommunications authority: The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. However, it is reported that this entity's decision-making process is not fully independent of the government.

The Guidelines on Security Management of Information Systems and Services Handling Medical Information provide that information systems for the handling of medical data must be located in the territory of Japan so that in the event of an emergency, Japanese governmental authorities can enforce their power to collect information or issue administrative orders. Although this is not a mandatory requirement based on a specific law, it is reported that some medical institutions have requested that service providers maintain servers inside Japan to comply with these Guidelines.

The National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC) “Common Standards for Information Security Measures for Government Agencies” allows for government agencies to make use of systems that are "isolated" from the internet if necessary (Chapter 5.2.1). Information on the agencies affected is not readily available.

Japan has implemented foreign direct investment (FDI) screening mechanisms through the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (Act No. 228 of 1949), supplemented by procedural regulations such as the Cabinet Order on Inward Direct Investment. Under this Act, foreign investors in "Designated Business Sectors" or "Core Business Sectors" are required to submit a prior notification to the relevant ministry. After reviewing the notification, the ministry may either approve, amend, or suspend the proposed investment.
According to the Cabinet Order on Inward Direct Investment, "Core Business Sectors" include industries where foreign investors (e.g., non-residents or foreign corporations) must file prior notification for direct investment, such as acquiring 1% or more of voting rights in a listed company or purchasing shares in an unlisted company. These sectors, considered highly sensitive, are generally not exempt from prior notification requirements due to national security concerns.
The List of Classifications of Listed Companies outlines core business sectors such as semiconductors and dual-use technologies, metal mining of significant mineral resources, cybersecurity-related services (e.g., network security monitoring and critical infrastructure protection), and telecommunications. Non-core business sectors include software, data processing services, and internet-use support businesses.