Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This website and our classes are run by Empire Academy (Pvt) Ltd (company registration no. PV 00284617), trading as Empire Japanese Center, of No. 126/3, High Level Road, Maharagama 10280, Sri Lanka. We are responsible for the personal information you give us, and we handle it in line with the Personal Data Protection Act, No. 9 of 2022.

2. Information we collect

When you enrol or place an order

• Full name, NIC or passport number
• Mobile number (used for WhatsApp class groups), email address and postal address
• The courses, batches and items you order, and how you chose to pay
• Payment status and the last four digits of your card, as reported to us by our payment gateway

While you study with us

• Attendance, homework, test and mock exam marks
• Recordings of online classes, in which your name, voice or video may appear if you turn them on
• Copies of documents you send us for translation

When you use this website

• Your cart is saved in your own browser (local storage) so it isn't lost if you close the page. It is not sent to us until you check out.
• Basic technical information such as browser type and pages visited, collected by our hosting provider for security and performance.

We never receive or store your full card number, CVV or wallet PIN. Card and mobile wallet payments are entered directly on PayHere's secure payment page.

3. How we use your information

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information. We share only what is needed with:

• PayHere (Pvt) Ltd, our payment gateway, to process card and mobile wallet payments and refunds.
• Our courier partner, who receives your name, phone number and address to deliver books.
• Zoom and Google Workspace, which we use to run online classes, store recordings and send email.
• Exam organisers, such as the JLPT local test centre, only when you ask us to help with your application.
• Government authorities, when the law requires it.

Some of these providers store data outside Sri Lanka. We use providers that apply appropriate safeguards to protect it.

5. How long we keep it

• Student records, receipts and certificates: 6 years after your course ends, for accounting and so we can re-issue certificates.
• Class recordings: until the end of the exam session the course prepares for, then deleted.
• Translation documents: 12 months after delivery.
• Enquiries that don't lead to enrolment: 12 months.

6. Your rights

Under the Personal Data Protection Act you can ask us to:

• give you a copy of the personal information we hold about you,
• correct information that is wrong or out of date,
• delete your information when we no longer need it,
• stop using your information for marketing, or withdraw consent you gave earlier.

Email privacy@empireacademy.lk. We reply within 21 working days. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Data Protection Authority of Sri Lanka.

7. Students under 18

Students aged 16 and 17 can enrol with the consent of a parent or guardian, whose name and phone number we record. For the A/L Japanese class, we communicate with both the student and the parent or guardian.

8. Security

This website uses HTTPS encryption. Access to student records is limited to office staff and teachers who need it, and accounts are protected with two-step verification. No system is completely secure, so if we ever become aware of a breach that affects you, we will tell you and the authorities as required by law.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our services or the law change. The date at the top of the page shows when it was last updated. See also our Terms & Conditions and Refund & Cancellation Policy.