Yahoo! JAPAN ceased full service access for users in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom on April 6, 2022, citing challenges in maintaining compliance with data regulations.
The company announced the service disruption, impacting a wide range of its offerings, though limited functionality, specifically within Yahoo! JAPAN Mail, remained available. The decision stemmed from difficulties adhering to cross-border data transfer restrictions imposed by the EU-UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to reports.
Users within the EEA and the UK were advised to cancel any subscription services, such as Yahoo! Premium, that automatically renew on a monthly basis. Paid service users were also cautioned to be mindful of their service’s remaining availability period. The change also applied to individuals traveling to Japan from within the affected regions.
Even as the majority of Yahoo! JAPAN services became inaccessible from the EEA and the UK after 11:00 AM Japan time on April 6, 2022, Yahoo! JAPAN Mail, ebookjapan, and Yahoo! Card continued to function, albeit with some restrictions to the mail service. Access to Yahoo! JAPAN services remained available when accessed from within Japan.
The move follows a prior announcement made by Yahoo! JAPAN regarding the discontinuation of services in these regions, as detailed in a notice published on its privacy policy website. The company expressed apology for the inconvenience caused and requested understanding from its users.
