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WMJS

Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026

Overview

What Makes Japan Smile ("WMJS", "we", "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what information we collect and how we use it.

Cookies and Consent

When you first visit our site, a cookie consent banner will appear. You can choose to accept or decline non-essential cookies.

  • Essential cookies: We do not use essential cookies. Our site functions without them.
  • Analytics cookies: If you accept, we use Google Analytics 4 to understand site usage. These cookies help us measure page views, session duration, and traffic sources. No personally identifiable information is collected.
  • Advertising cookies: If you accept, Google AdSense may use cookies to display personalized ads. You can opt out of personalized ads via Google Ad Settings.

You can change your cookie preference at any time by clearing your browser's local storage for this site and refreshing the page.

Information We Collect

Analytics Data

With your consent, we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use our site. This may include:

  • Pages visited and time spent
  • Referring website
  • Country of origin (based on IP, which is not stored)
  • Browser and device type

Voice Box Submissions

When you submit a story through our Voice Box, you may optionally provide:

  • Your name (optional)
  • Your email address (optional, for follow-up only)
  • Your story or experience

This information is used solely to create content for WMJS and to contact you if you've given permission. We never sell or share your personal information with third parties.

Contact Form Submissions

When you contact us through our contact form, we collect:

  • Your name
  • Your email address
  • Your message

This information is used solely to respond to your inquiry and is not shared with third parties.

Embedded Content

Our articles may contain embedded videos from YouTube. These platforms may collect data about your interaction with the embedded content. Please refer to their respective privacy policies.

Third-Party Services

  • Cloudflare: Our hosting provider. Cloudflare may process basic connection data for security and performance purposes.
  • Google Analytics 4: With your consent, used to analyze site traffic. See Google's Privacy Policy.
  • Google AdSense: With your consent, ads may use cookies for personalization. You can opt out via Google Ad Settings.
  • Google Fonts: We load fonts from Google Fonts, which may log your IP address. See Google's Privacy Policy.

Google AdSense

This site may use Google AdSense, a service provided by Google LLC, to display advertisements. When advertising is enabled, Google AdSense uses cookies and web beacons to serve ads based on your prior visits to this site and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.

You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ad Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of third-party vendor cookies by visiting aboutads.info.

Affiliate Disclosure

Some articles on WMJS contain affiliate links to third-party travel-related services, such as accommodation booking platforms, eSIM providers, language learning services, and experience booking sites. When you click an affiliate link and complete a purchase or booking, we may receive a small commission from the service provider at no additional cost to you.

Affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial decisions. We do not write articles to promote specific products. Affiliate links are added only when a service is naturally relevant to the article topic, and we always present multiple options rather than recommending a single "best" choice.

The affiliate networks and partner programs we work with — or have applied to — include Awin, Impact, and direct partnerships with services such as Booking.com, Klook, GetYourGuide, Airalo, and italki.

If you prefer not to use affiliate links, you can navigate to any of these services directly through your browser.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Accept or decline non-essential cookies via our consent banner
  • Request access to any personal data we hold about you
  • Request deletion of your data
  • Withdraw consent for Voice Box submissions to be published

Contact

For privacy-related inquiries, please use our contact form or reach out through our social media channels.

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.