Japan to push for guidelines on cross-border data flows at G-7

TOKYO -- When ministers from the Group of Seven major economies meet in Japan this spring to discuss the digital economy, they are expected to agree on forming an organization to craft a common guidelines for cross-border data transfers, Japanese Digital Affairs Minister Taro Kono tells Nikkei.

In this interview, Kono discusses the challenges of devising a structure to encourage the safe, free flow of data in a world governed by a jumble of rules with varying stringencies. He indicated that Japan will take the lead in forming the group, perhaps providing the money to get the body off the ground.