Privacy Policy of Wakou USA Inc.

Privacy Policy of Wakou USA Inc.

Wakou USA Inc. (“Wakou”) values your privacy, respects and is committed to protecting your privacy and Personal Information.  This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes how and what types of information Wakou, its subsidiaries, and its affiliates (“Wakou,” “we,” “us”, or “our”) collect, use, share and otherwise process your Personal Information in connection with our websites, applications, and other platforms which link to or display this Policy (collectively our “Sites”), when you visit any of our Sites.

This Policy does not create any legal rights or obligations between Wakou and you.  “Personal Information” used herein means any information that identifies, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or linked, directly or indirectly, to you individually or your household.  Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions, accessible at https://www.wakouusa.com.

By accessing our Sites, or by submitting Personal Information and/or Browsing Information to Wakou, you agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information as described in this Policy.  If you do not, please do not use our Sites.

1. What Information Do We Collect About You and How We Collect Them?

We may collect two (2) types of information: “Personal Information” and “Browsing Information.” “Personal Information”:  While visiting our Sites, you may provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you, which include, but not limited to: 1) name, 2) e-mail address, 3) telephone numbers, 4) address, and 5) log data.  “Browsing Information.” These information include, without limitation, 1) internet protocol or IP address; 2) browser language; 3) browser type and version; 4) domain name system requests; 5) browsing history (the pages of our Sites that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages); 6) number of clicks; 7) hypertext transfer protocol headers; and 8) application client and server banners.  We collect these Browsing Information that your browser sends whenever you visit our Sites.  Our servers automatically log, collect and record certain Browsing Information about each visitor to our Sites. The Browsing Information includes only generic information and reveals nothing personal about the user. We will not collect additional categories of Personal Information or use the Personal Information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.

2. How Long Do We Keep Your Information?

Your Personal Information will be deleted when it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or until you contact us to delete your information, whichever comes sooner.

3. How Do We; a) Use, b) Share, c) Sell or d) Disclose Your Information?

a)  Use Your Information. We may use your Personal Information, including, without limitation: to 1) provide you with support about our products and services; 2)  respond to your inquiries and communicate with you; 3) inform you about our  products and services; 4) process your requests, orders, transactions, purchases, and payments; and 5) for marketing purposes, to deliver products and services offerings relevant to your interests.

b)  Share Your Information. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not shared personal information for a business purpose, but if do in the future, we may share your information among our parent company, affiliates and subsidiaries and with certain individuals and companies, as permitted by law, without first obtaining your authorization.

We may also share your Personal Information when we believe it is necessary to comply with the law or a government request; to prevent damage or injury to us or others; or to protect our rights. For example, we reserve the right to and may disclose your information in response to requests from local, state or federal law enforcement officials; any judicial, administrative or similar proceeding or order, such as a subpoena; to investigate suspected fraud, harassment, physical threats or other violations of our Policies or the rights of third parties; or to investigate any suspected misconduct. We may also share your information with our parent or affiliate companies for corporate reporting. If we share your Personal Information, we will make efforts to ensure third party contractors and service providers who provide services or perform functions on our behalf protect your information, and we limit use of your Personal Information to the purposes for which the information was provided.  

We reserve the right to transfer your Personal Information, as well as any other information, in connection with the sale or other disposition of all or part of our business and/or assets, or in the event of our bankruptcy, reorganization, insolvency, receivership or an assignment for the benefit of creditors.  You expressly agree and consent to the use and/or transfer of this information in connection with any of the above described proceedings.  We cannot and will not be responsible for any breach of security by any third party or for any actions of any third party that receives any of the information that is disclosed to us. 

c)   Sell Your Information. We do not give or sell your Personal Information to third parties for their own direct marketing use or any other purposes. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not sold personal information for a business purpose.

d)  Disclosure Your Personal Information. We may disclose your Personal Information and/or Browsing Information when required by law or in the good-faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to: a) comply with a legal process or applicable laws; b) enforce this Privacy Policy; c) investigate or respond to claims that any information provided by you violates the rights of a third party; or d) protect the rights, property or personal safety of us, our users or the public.  In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not disclosed Personal Information for a business purpose.

4. Your Rights and Choices About Your Information – What Rights or Choices You have about Your Information We Collect?

a)  Access, Correct, Delete or Limit Disclosure of Your Personal Information. If you want to access, correct, delete or limit the disclosure, of your Personal Information in our possession  and correct inaccuracies, please contact us at a link in the homepage or by mail to our address in Contact US section below.

b)  Opt Out. Whether you submit your Personal Information to us is entirely up to you.  If you decide not to submit your information, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you.  You may choose to prevent us from using your Personal Information under certain circumstances (“opt out”). You may opt out of receiving communications from us about our products and/or services by letting us know using a link in the homepage or in writing to us.

5. Privacy Notice for California Residents 

(Effective Date: January 2021)
If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) gives you additional rights about the collection, processing and sale of your personal information. This Privacy Notice for California Residents supplements the information contained in our Privacy Policy and applies solely to all visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of California.  We adopt this notice to comply with CCPA and any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this notice. 

a)  Your CCPA RightsCCPA provides California residents with the following specific rights regarding their personal information:

1. Right to request access to your personal information. You have the right to request a copy of your personal information. Under the CCPA, you can also request that we disclose the categories of personal information that we collect, use, or sell about you and the specific pieces of personal information that we have collected about you over the last 12 months. However, as permitted under the CCPA, we may withhold some information where the risk to you or your personal information is too great to disclose the information, such as financial information or account passwords.

2. Right to request correction of inaccurate personal information. You have the right to request correction of inaccurate personal information.  If you find inaccurate personal information we colleted, please contact us by using a link “Contact Us’ in the main page, or by mail to our address in Contact Us section below.

3. Data Portability Rights. You have the right to obtain from us a specific piece of personal information we collected about you (also called a data portability request) over the past 12 months, in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, in a readily usable format that allows you to transmit the information to another entity without hindrance.

4. Right to request deletion of your personal information. You have the right to request that we delete personal informationthat we have collected from or about you. However, we may retain personal information as authorized under applicable law, such as personal information required or necessary to provide our services, to ensure security and integrity, to identify and fix bugs, to exercise our or another person’s free speech or other rights, to comply with law enforcement requests pursuant to lawful process, for scientific or historical research, for our own internal purposes reasonably related to your relationship with us, or to comply with legal obligations.  We need certain types of information so that we can provide our services.  If you ask us to delete it, you may no longer be able to access or use our services.

5. In addition to the foregoing, as a California resident, you also have the right to designate an agent to exercise these rights on your behalf. If you would like further information regarding your legal rights under applicable law or would like to exercise any of them, please contact us by using a link “Contact Us’ in the main page, or by mail to our address in Contact Us section below.

b) How to exercise These Rights.  To exercise these rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by submitting your request by using a link “Contact Us’ in the main page, or by mail to our address in Contact Us section below. Only you, or a person registered with the California Secretary of State that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child. You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access or data portability twice within a 12-month period. The verifiable consumer request must; 1) provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative. (At a minimum, you must provide the full name and email address affiliated with you or your account. We may request additional information to complete the verification process if we are unable to verify your identity initially. Our ability to locate your personal information is limited by the accuracy and the completeness of the information that you provide), and, 2) Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. (We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify your identity or authority to make the request.)

c)  Response Timing and Format
We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt.  If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing.  We will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option. Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable consumer request’s receipt. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily usable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance, specifically by electronic mail communication.  We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

d)  Non-DiscriminationWe will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not: a) deny you goods or services; b) Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties; c) provide you a different level or quality of goods or services; or d) suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

6. The California Online Privacy Protection Act.

(“Shine the Light” Law).

As provided by California Civil Code Section 1798.83, a California resident who has provided Personal Information to a business with whom he/she has established a business relationship for personal, family, or household purposes (“California customer”) is entitled to request information about whether the business has disclosed Personal Information to any third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. In general, if the business has made such a disclosure of Personal Information, upon receipt of a request by a California customer, the business is required to provide a list of all third parties to whom Personal Information was disclosed in the preceding calendar year, as well as a list of the categories of Personal Information that were disclosed. However, under the law, a business is not required to provide the above-described lists if the business adopts and discloses to the public (in its privacy policy) a policy of not disclosing customer’s Personal Information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes unless the customer first affirmatively agrees to the disclosure, as long as the business maintains and discloses this policy. Rather, the business may comply with the law by notifying the customer of his or her right to prevent disclosure of Personal Information and providing a cost free means to exercise that right.

As stated in this Privacy Policy, we do not share information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes unless you affirmatively agree to such disclosure – typically by opting in to receive information from a third party that is participating in some activity describes on our Sites.  If you ask us to share your information with a third party for its marketing purposes, we will only share information in connection with that specific activity, as we do not share information with any third party on a continual basis. To prevent disclosure of your Personal Information for use in direct marketing by a third party, do not opt in to such use when you provide Personal Information on our Sites. Please note that whenever you opt in to receive future communications from a third party, your information will be subject to the third party’s privacy policy. If you later decide that you do not want that third party to use your information, you will need to contact the third party directly, as we have no control over how third parties use information. You should always review the privacy policy of any party that collects your information to determine how that entity will handle your information. California customers may request further information about our compliance with this law by using a link “Contact Us” in the main page, or by mail to our address in Contact Us section below.  Please note that we are only required to respond to one request per customer each year, and we are not required to respond to requests made by means other than through this email address. 

7. Cookies.

From time to time, Wakou may send a “cookie” to your computer when you visit our Sites.  A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your Internet browser from a web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive.  When you visit our Sites again, the cookie allows our Sites to recognize your computer, with the goal of providing an optimized user experience.  Cookies may store user preferences and other information. You can choose not to accept cookies by changing the settings of your Internet browser.  If you choose not to accept cookies, then some functions of the Website may not work as intended.  For more details about our Cookie Policy, please check the link in our Homepage. 

8. Security.

The security of your Personal Information is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.  While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

9. Children’s Privacy – Information from Children.

Our Website is meant for adults, and not designed for persons under 18 or  intended or designed to attract children under the age of thirteen (13). We do not collect Personal Information from any person that we know to be under the age of thirteen (13) without permission from a  parent or guardian.  Parents and legal guardians should be aware that this Policy will govern our use of Personal Information, but also that information that is voluntarily given by children may be used by other parties to generate unsolicited communications. We  encourage all parents and legal guardians to instruct their children in the safe and responsible use of their Personal Information while using the Internet.

10. Links to Other Sites – Privacy Outside the Website.

Our Sites may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us,  including to those of our affiliates or third party entities that may contain a different privacy statement.   If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site.  We are not and cannot be responsible for the privacy practices or the content of any of those other websites.  We recommend that you read the privacy statements of each site you visit to understand the site’s privacy practices.  

11. International Users.

Because Wakou’s corporate headquarters is located in Japan, we may transfer your Personal Information and/or Browsing Information to Japan.  By using our Sites and providing us with your Personal Information and/or Browsing Information, you understand and consent to the transfer, processing and storage of such information outside your country of residence, as well as the fact that we will handle such information consistent with this Privacy Policy.

12. Changes To Our Privacy Policy.

 We may update and change our Privacy Policy from time to time.  We reserve the right to do so at our discretion and at any time.  Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page. Your continued use of our Sites following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the ways in which we collect and use your information described therein, or your choices and rights regarding such use, or if you wish to exercise your rights under California laws, please contact us at a link in the homepage, by phone, or by mail to our address below:

WAKOU USA INC.
Attn: Privacy Officer
13930 Borate Street
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
Telephone: (562) 207-0000

Copyright © 2022 Wakou USA Inc.

All Rights Reserved.  

EFFECTIVE AS OF May 1, 2022