I’ve just moved to the top floor of a danchi UR apartment in Tokyo. The building is such that only two apartments share a common landing per floor.
About a week moving in, the neighbor across the way has posted a fisheye camera above their door which can see anyone coming and going.
It makes me feel uncomfortable that they can see when I am there or not based on the camera footage alone.
Is this allowed / legal?
I introduced myself to the neighbor this evening but said nothing about the camera. She seemed nice enough, a single mother with two kids.
What would you do?
10 comments
Put a fisheye camera above your door
I wouldn’t say its illegal. It might be against UR’s policy as its a shared-use area and not to be used by people for their own purposes.
You could complain to UR and see if they do something about it.
Literally nothing.
Single mother / two kids…obviously wants a sense of security. She also likely has enough on her plate.
Be a good neighbor and forget about the camera (unless somehow it becomes a bigger issue).
When we asked our landlord about putting up a security camera outside our door the landlord told us we couldn’t put a camera that records shared areas because it’s illegal to record people without their permission in Japan. He recommended that we put our camera inside the house facing the door to catch anyone who enters illegally.
So if you feel strong enough about that camera I would just contact the landlord and bring it up.
The personal circumstances of your neighbor are irrelevant.
If it is bothering you, contact the building management. Cite the Privacy Act, and how the camera may be infringing on your rights.
**個人情報の保護に関する法律（平成十五年法律第五十七号）**
[https://elaws.e-gov.go.jp/document?lawid=415AC0000000057](https://elaws.e-gov.go.jp/document?lawid=415AC0000000057)
Does your door have a window that looks directly into your apartment?
If not then what’s the problem?
It’s unfortunate your doors face eachother but it’s completely reasonable for someone to want a door camera. I mean my door camera faces the street, there’s a house with a door just across the street so technically the camera is facing the door no?
As long as there isn’t a camera facing into your private window then it’s a non issue. You all share a communal doorstep. You’re not the main character. A single mom with two kids isn’t wanting to track your everyday movements to ambush you at your weakest moments.
She likely just wants to see who’s at her door.
What is your beef? That she has one to provide security for her family and you don’t? Chill. You may want to use the info from her camera at some point in the future. In other words, share the security between you both. Talk to her about it. Don’t take retaliatory measures when you don’t need to and shouldn’t want to.
What I would do is be understanding, reassuring, and friendly. And, as to your question as to whether installing a security camera is allowed or legal, the short answer is that it depends … the long answer can be found here: [https://www.dataguidance.com/news/japan-ppc-published-qa-usage-security-cameras](https://www.dataguidance.com/news/japan-ppc-published-qa-usage-security-cameras)
While it is in Japanese, it says that it depends on the purpose of use of the camera. The best I can determine is that if it is for home security to identify persons coming to your door, then it is legal and not prohibited, which is a good thing since most homes and apartments now have them.
What not ask her about? see want her reasoning is … maybe you’ll feel better after