New Japan Pro Wrestling has issued an apology to members of their official fan club after a USB drive containing personal information of over 30,000 people was lost.
The USB drive was lost at the NJPW show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on April 22, 2024, and contained the name, date of birth, age, gender, membership number, membership type and membership expiration date of 32,775 people.
The drive did not, however, contain any credit card information, addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses.
As of this writing, there is no evidence that the lost information has been used illegally, or that any damage has been done to those affected by the issue.
“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and concern we have caused our members,” NJPW wrote in a statement on their official website on Tuesday morning.
According to the statement, the USB drive was lost while preparing for a photo session for NJPW fan club members. When they were unable to find the drive, NJPW contacted local authorities and filed a report with police on April 25, 2024.
In the future, NJPW is considering switching to a new authentication system that does require the use of USB memory, and they will be making company-wide efforts to handle personal information more strictly to avoid similar issues.
Individual notifications have been sent out by NJPW to members affected by the incident.
We will keep you posted.
