Privacy Policy

At Hikari Kōbō, we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how Hikari Kōbō collects, uses, and discloses information when you use our online platform, purchase products from our retail sales, or engage with our services, including artisan soap production, natural skincare formulation, small-batch manufacturing, custom product development, and private label services.

Information We Collect

We collect various types of information in connection with the services we provide:

• Personal Information You Provide

  We collect personal information that you provide directly to us when you make a purchase, create an account, sign up for a newsletter, request a custom product, inquire about private label services, or contact us. This may include:

  • Your name, billing address, shipping address, and contact details (e.g., email address, phone number).
  • Payment information, such as credit card details, processed securely by our third-party payment processors.
  • Information related to your custom product development or private label service requests, which may include details about your preferences, formulations, or branding requirements.
  • Any other information you choose to provide, such as feedback or survey responses.

• Information We Collect Automatically

  When you access or use our online platform, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and usage. This information is primarily used to maintain the security and operation of our site, and for internal analytics and reporting. This may include:

  • IP address, browser type, operating system, and device identifiers.
  • Pages viewed, time spent on pages, and navigation paths.
  • Referring URLs and search terms.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes related to providing and improving our products and services, including:

• To process and fulfill your orders, including artisan soap and natural skincare products, and to manage returns and exchanges.
• To provide and deliver the services you request, such as custom product development and private label manufacturing.
• To communicate with you about your orders, services, inquiries, and to provide customer support.
• To improve our products, services, and online platform, and to develop new offerings.
• To personalize your experience on our online platform.
• To send you marketing communications about our products and services, where you have provided your consent to do so.
• To comply with legal obligations and protect our legitimate business interests, including detecting and preventing fraud and maintaining the security of our services.

How We Share Your Information

We may share your information with third parties in the following circumstances:

• Service Providers

  We engage third-party companies and individuals to perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, shipping and delivery, data analysis, IT services, and marketing support. These service providers have access to your personal information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

• Legal Requirements

  We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect and defend the rights or property of Hikari Kōbō, prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with our services, or protect the personal safety of users of our services or the public.

• Business Transfers

  In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via a prominent notice on our online platform of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

• With Your Consent

  We may share your information with your explicit consent or at your direction.

Legal Basis for Processing (for Users in the EU/EEA)

For users in the European Union and European Economic Area, we process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:

• Performance of a Contract

  We process your information when it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract (e.g., to process your order or provide custom product development services).

• Legitimate Interests

  We process your information based on our legitimate interests, provided these do not override your fundamental rights and freedoms (e.g., to improve our services, for fraud prevention, or for direct marketing where permissible).

• Compliance with a Legal Obligation

  We may process your information where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject (e.g., tax and accounting obligations).

• Consent

  We may rely on your consent to process certain personal information, particularly for sending marketing communications. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to Access

  You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

• Right to Rectification

  You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.

• Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”)

  You have the right to request that we delete your personal information, under certain conditions.

• Right to Restriction of Processing

  You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information, under certain conditions.

• Right to Data Portability

  You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit that data to another controller, under certain conditions.

• Right to Object

  You have the right to object to our processing of your personal information, under certain conditions.

• Right to Withdraw Consent

  Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

• Right to Lodge a Complaint

  You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, particularly if you are in the EU/EEA, if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in the "Contact Us" section below. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights).

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our online platform uses "cookies" and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies are small text files placed on your device. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our service.

Third-Party Websites

Our online platform may contain links to websites operated by third parties. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

International Data Transfers

Hikari Kōbō is based in Japan. Your personal information may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or where we engage service providers. By using our services, you understand that your information may be transferred to countries outside of your country of residence, which may have data protection laws different from those in your country. We take appropriate measures to ensure that your personal information receives an adequate level of protection when transferred across borders.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

Hikari Kōbō
5-10 Ginza 4-chome, Chūō Ward, 3F
Tokyo, Tokyo, 104-0061
Japan