Privacy Policy
Last updated:October-1, 2024
Personal Information Protection Policy
President and Representative Director
Kubota Corporation
OUR APPROACH TO PRIVACY
Kubota Corporation (“Kubota”) takes your privacy seriously. Kubota understands transparency and respect are foundational aspects of longstanding relationships and, therefore, takes every reasonable effort to protect the information you provide to us.
This Privacy Policy describes the types of personal data we collect, how we use the data, with whom we share it, and the choices you can make about our use of the data. We also describe the measures we take to protect the security of the data and how you can contact us about our privacy practices.
Finally, we, as the leader of the Kubota Group in the world, will encourage its subsidiaries and affiliates to formulate their own privacy policy in compliance with this Privacy Policy and any other laws applicable to them. Consequently, the privacy policies of us, and those of its subsidiaries and affiliates may vary depending on the countries in which they operate businesses to reflect local practices and legal requirements.
1. WHAT IS PERSONAL DATA
We refer to personal data according to the following definition:
“any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ('data subject'); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person”.
2. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DATA
This Privacy Policy applies to the personal data that Kubota collects, uses and otherwise processes. For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, Kubota will be the personal information handler. This is a legal term meaning that we have collected and maintain your Personal Data and, because of this, we are responsible for making sure it is used in accordance with applicable data protection laws. We are required by the laws to give you the information in this Privacy Policy. If you visit our Sites from outside Japan, please note that Japan has data protection laws, including the Act on the Protection of Personal Information in Japan (“APPI”) that may not be consistent with those of other countries and that information collected about you in connection with your visit to our Sites will be processed in accordance with Japanese laws. However, if applicable, Kubota shall comply with the laws, regulations, and guidelines in any other jurisdictions, including the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation; “EU GDPR”).
Our websites may provide links to other websites for your convenience and information. These websites may operate independently from Kubota. Linked websites may have their own privacy notices or policies, which we strongly suggest you review if you visit any linked websites. To the extent any linked websites you visit are not owned or controlled by Kubota, we are not responsible for the websites’ content (including an ‘cookies’ used on that website), any use of the websites, or the privacy practices of linked websites.
3. HOW WE COLLECT AND USE YOUR DATA
We collect some personal data directly from you, for example when you use our website, use our services or contact us. Or we obtain your personal data (1) from our Business Partners and Affiliates (such as agents, dealers or distributors with whom we have business relationship), (2) from the entities with whom we have entered into the contract for market survey, engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, construction, logistics and other business purpose, or (3) from your equipment. (If your equipment setting allows it, we collect machine operation data (including, location data) from your equipment, device or other similar services).
Categories of data we collect about you
- Physical Location and Contact Information (name, mailing address, email address, phone number, fax number, customer ID, and language contact preferences)
- Relationship Information (information regarding your inquiries, purchases, regional location and previous transactions)
- Demographic Information and Interests (age, gender and site preferences)
- Product and Use Information (product use purpose, product condition and machine operation data (including machine location and PIN (product identification number) of machine, etc). In terms of other product and use information, we would contact you for additional consent. You are also able to opt-out at any time.)
- Information we collect online. We collect personal data by using automated means, such as cookies and by using the Dealer Locator. The information we collect in these manners include: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, GPS and information on actions taken or interaction with our digital assets. Our websites use Google Analytics (“Google Analytics”), a web analytics service provided by Google and undertake anonymization of your personal data to perform data analyses.
How we process collected data
We will process (collect, store and use) the information you provide in a manner compatible with the principles globally common to various personal data protection laws. We will endeavour to keep your information accurate and up to date, and not keep it for longer than is necessary. We pledge to retain information in accordance with the law, such as information needed for income tax and audit purposes.
The purpose for collecting and processing data
Kubota uses your personal data for providing you with goods and services you have requested or for alerting you to other products or service as specified below.
- Fulfilment of Your Request. When you use our inquiry, contest or survey functionality on our websites, we may use submitted information in conjunction with other information we have about you to supply you with relevant product and service offerings to better respond to your specific product or service inquiries or respond to complaints. If using the Dealer Locator, your information may be provided to our distributors, dealers to satisfy your request.
- Marketing and Promotions. Kubota may use information you provide through transactions and through our websites to market new products and services to you. In terms of being contacted for marketing purposes, we would contact you for additional consent. You also are able to opt-out at any time. For this purpose, you will find out additional information available in the section on your rights.
- Customer Service and Support. We collect and use information about you to support our customer service and support activities or related transactions. This can include, but is not limited to, warranty services, financing or purchasing, product delivery and maintenance support.
- Ordinary Business Purpose. We collect and use information about you to conduct our ordinary business activities or related transactions. This can include, but is not limited to, engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, construction, logistics, shareholders management, recruiting activities and other relevant business activities.
- Performance Improvements. We use the personal data to operate our business, which includes analyzing our performance, developing our workforce, doing research, and improvement of website content and functionality.
- Compliance with Our Legal Obligations. We also use the personal information to comply with laws and regulations, judicial and administrative orders, or lawful requests from governmental authorities.
Legal Basis for Processing
Under some data protection laws, Kubota must have a legal basis to process your personal data. The legal basis that applies in an instance will depend on for which of the specific purposes described above Kubota is processing your personal data:
- In certain cases, Kubota may ask for your consent to collect and process your personal data. Should you choose to provide your consent or if you have previously provided it, you may later withdraw your consent by contacting us as described in the “How to contact us” section. Please note that the withdrawal of consent will not affect processing which has already occurred or which is being undertaken under any of the applicable other basis set out below.
- In other instances, the processing of your personal data may be necessary in order to comply with an applicable law or regulation or for the performance of a contract to which you are subject. You may not be able to opt-out of this processing, or your choice to opt-out may impact our ability to perform a contractual obligation otherwise owed to you.
- In still other instances, Kubota may process your personal data based on Kubota’s legitimate interests in relation to our products, services and supports which include, but is not limited to, analyzing our performance, and improving our products, services and website content and functionality, and about scientific research and educational opportunities. You have the right to opt-out of all such processing of your personal data. You may do so by contacting us as described in the “How to contact us” section.
- In accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation and other applicable laws, it may also occur that processing of your personal data is deemed necessary for pubic or vital interest.
4. REASONS FOR SHARING YOUR PERSONAL DATA
Kubota may share your data with the following parties (Within the joint use framework in accordance with APPI, personal information may be disclosed or provided to the other joint users and may be used by such joint users. For the details, please refer to our Japanese Policy .):
- Distributors, dealers, business partners who provide some portion of our products, and service providers to provide products and services relating to the sale of Kubota products, internal company processes or the servicing of your accounts or transactions
- Marketing partners, to market to you directly if you have provided your consent for the purposes described above.
- Our subsidiaries, affiliates and certain distributors (KK Igarashi Shoukai, KK Hosoda, Banshu Nouki Hanbai KK, Hyougo Nouki Hanbai KK, KK Mizuho Shoukai) as the joint users, for the purposes described above and to the extent legally allowed.
- Auditors, regulators and other entities, where legally required as needed to protect our rights or property in connection with the sale of assets and/or the company.
- Any third parties that we may share your data with those obligations to keep your details securely, and to use them only to fulfil the service they provide you on our behalf. When they no longer need your data to fulfil this service, they will dispose of the details in line with our procedures.
We do not sell your Personal Data. Nor do we share your Personal Data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.
5. RETENTION OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA
Kubota will only store personal data for the period necessary and proportionate for the purpose of its processing.
6. YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES
You have certain rights regarding the personal data we maintain about you. We also offer you certain choices about what personal data we collect from you, how we use that data, and how we communicate it with you. In accordance with the applicable laws, it is your right to (with certain limitations):
- access to your personal data processed by Kubota. Namely you can obtain confirmation that we hold personal data about you, request access to and receive information about the personal data we maintain about you, receive copies of the personal data we maintain about you, or ask us to send that information to another company (the “right of data portability”).
- request correction, update and deletion of personal data
- object, for legitimate reasons, to your personal data being processed;
- object to your personal data being used for prospecting purposes, including in particular commercial purposes (marketing);
- withdraw any consent declaration given through the website or in any other manner (if any) with effect for the future at any time, and to access the wording of such consent declaration at any time.
You can opt out of the collection and use of certain information, which we collect about you by automated means, when you visit our websites. In certain jurisdictions, you can exercise your choice via the Cookie Consent tool provided in the relevant Kubota website. Your browser may tell you how to be notified and opt out of receiving certain types of cookies. In addition, in our websites, we may provide you with other choices regarding the use of cookies. Please note, however, that without cookies you may not be able to use all of the features of our websites or online services. For more information about Cookies please see below.
Cookies Policy
A cookie is a small text file that the website sends to your device for the purpose of keeping records. It identifies your device, typically your web browser, but it cannot identify you as an individual. Cookies necessary for a personalized user experience remember your preferences (e.g. language used) as well as your activities (e.g. login status) on our website, while other cookies provide enhanced functionality, gather analytical data to improve performance, or enable us or our Adtech partners to deliver personalized advertisements by tracking you across the internet. You can choose whether to allow us or third-parties (our Adtech partners) to set cookies which are not strictly necessary for the functioning of the website via the cookie banner and settings provided on the individual websites (available where legally required).
7. CHILDREN`S PRIVACY
Kubota does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children or market to children. If a child has provided personal data to Kubota through our website without his or her parent’ or guardian’ consent, the parent or guardian may contact Kubota to request the data be deleted from our records. Following receipt of such a request, we will make reasonable efforts to delete the child’s information from our records.
8. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS
We may transfer the personal data we collect about you to recipients in countries other than the country in which the data was originally collected. Those countries may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which you initially provided the data. When we transfer your data to other countries, we will protect that data as described in this Privacy Policy or applicable laws, or as otherwise disclosed to you at the time the data is collected.
We may transfer your data to a recipient in another jurisdiction if one of the following protections applies:
- The recipient is located in a jurisdiction whose laws ensure an adequate level of data protection that is equivalent to those in Japan.
- We have put in place appropriate safeguards such as contractual commitments to protect your Personal Data, including, if applicable, standard contractual clauses approved by European Commission when providing personal information to a third party in countries outside Japan and/or European Economic Area.
- You explicitly consent to the transfer.
If you would like to see a copy of any relevant transfer provisions containing standard contractual clauses, please contact us as described in the “How to contact us” section of this Privacy Policy.
Please note that Kubota goes through detailed due diligence process before selecting the data processors with whom we share your personal data with.
9. HOW WE HOLD AND PROTECT PERSONAL DATA
The security of your personal data is important to Kubota. We are committed to protecting the information we collect. We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect the personal data you provide or we collect against accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use. These safeguards are intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information you provide to us. We periodically assess risks to your information and update our policies, procedures and technology accordingly.
For the details of the safeguards under the APPI, please refer to our Japanese Policy or you may ask us by contacting us as described in the “How to contact us” section.
Kubota stores personal data only for as long as it is necessary for the fulfilment of the purpose for which the personal data is collected, unless otherwise required or authorized by applicable law. We take measures to destroy or permanently de-identify personal data if required by law or if the personal data is no longer required for the purpose for which we collected it.
10. UPDATES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically and without prior notice to you to reflect changes in our personal data practices. We will post a prominent notice on relevant websites to notify you of any significant changes to our Privacy Policy and indicate at the top of the Privacy Policy when it was most recently updated. If we update our Privacy Policy, in certain circumstances, we may seek your consent.
11. HOW TO CONTACT US
If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, Kubota privacy practices or if you would like to exercise your rights or to update information or preferences you provided to us, please e-mail us at: kbt_g.privacy@kubota.com
Additionally, if you have any concerns or complaints regarding Kubota’s processing of your Personal Data, you can contact Kubota’s Data Protection Officer at: kbt_ex.dpo@kubota.com
For persons in the European Economic Area (the "EEA"), please contact us using the details of our EU representative below:
- Our EU Representative:
Chief Privacy Officer -
Kubota Holdings Europe B.V.
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Hoofdweg 1264,
2153LR Nieuw-Vennep The Netherlands
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If you consider that we are in breach of our obligations under applicable data protection laws, you are always entitled to submit a complaint to the competent governmental authority.