Cookie Policy & Consent Governance

Last Updated: October 15, 2026. This page explains the cookies and similar storage that Red Sun Japan uses, what each one does, and how to change your mind at any time.

Short version:we use only the cookies strictly necessary to run the site (theme preference, CSRF protection, your saved consent choice). Analytics and marketing cookies stayoff by defaultand only load if you explicitly opt in. You can revoke that choice from the"Manage Cookie Preferences"button in the footer of any page.

1. What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file your browser stores on your device when you visit a site. Cookies (and the closely relatedlocalStorage and sessionStorage APIs) let a site remember small pieces of state between page loads: your theme preference, your language, whether you've already seen a notice, and so on. They cannot run code on your device or read other files on it.

We use the word "cookie" throughout this page to mean both traditional cookies and equivalent client-side storage (localStorage, sessionStorage, IndexedDB). The consent architecture is the same for all of them.

2. The three-tier consent architecture

We follow a strict three-tier model. Each tier is independent, meaning accepting one does not automatically opt you into the others:

Tier 1 — Strictly Necessary (always active)

These storage items are required for the site to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are set without consent because the site cannot operate without them.

Theme preference (Dark / Light mode): a small localStorage entry that remembers your visual choice across pages and visits.
Cookie consent record: a localStorage entry that stores the choices you made in the consent banner so we don't show the banner again on every visit.
Cryptographic state tokens: short-lived session tokens that protect form submissions against cross-site request forgery (CSRF). These are cleared when you close the browser tab.
Pagefind search index: a small client-side index that powers the search page. It is generated locally and is not transmitted to any server.

Tier 2 — Analytics & Telemetry (off by default)

We may load aggregate, anonymized analytics to understand which articles resonate and where the site is slow. This data is never tied to your name, email, or any other personal identifier; it is also never sold or shared with third parties for advertising.

Privacy-respecting analytics tooling (when enabled) records only: anonymized IP fragment, browser family, device class, referrer, and the article URL visited.
No cross-site profiling, no fingerprinting, no persistent user identifiers.
You can opt out at any time via the"Manage Cookie Preferences" button in the footer.

Tier 3 — Marketing & Third-Party Embeds (off by default)

We may load marketing pixels or advertising tags that evaluate media engagement, retarget visitors, or measure ad performance. These are loadedonly after explicit opt-inand never before.

Examples of tags that may load under Tier 3: Google AdSense, Pinterest tag, Facebook Pixel, affiliate network trackers.
These tags are operated by their respective vendors and are subject to those vendors' privacy policies — see thePrivacy Policy Section 4 for the list of third parties we partner with.

3. The consent banner

The first time you visit Red Sun Japan, a banner appears at the bottom of the page with three equally weighted options:

Accept All — enables Tier 2 and Tier 3 in addition to Tier 1.
Reject All — keeps only Tier 1 active. Analytics and marketing tags are not loaded.
Customize — opens a detailed panel where you can enable or disable Tier 2 and Tier 3 independently.

Your choice is stored in a localStorage record (a Tier 1 item) and respected on every subsequent visit. The banner does not reappear unless you clear your browser storage or revoke your choice from the footer.

4. How to change or revoke your choice

You can review, modify, or completely revoke your cookie consent selections at any time. Two methods are supported:

Click the"Manage Cookie Preferences"link in the footer of any page. This reopens the consent banner with your current choices pre-selected.
Clear your browser's site data forredsunjapan.com. The next page load will treat you as a new visitor and show the banner again.

Either action is immediate. No data collected under a previous choice is retroactively deleted, but no further data will be collected under the new choice.

5. Third-party storage set by content we embed

Even when marketing cookies are disabled, the act ofclicking playon an embedded video can cause the third-party platform to set its own cookies. We mitigate this by using the most privacy-respecting embed mode available:

YouTube videos are embedded viayoutube-nocookie.com. YouTube does not set tracking cookies until you actively press play.
Pagefind search runs entirely in your browser; no data is sent to any external service.
Coolify / hosting infrastructure may write short-lived server logs (anonymized IP, request path, status code) retained for at most 30 days for DDoS protection and security monitoring.

6. Your rights under GDPR, CCPA, LGPD & APPI

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have additional rights related to cookies and tracking:

Right to refuse non-essential cookies — we honor this by keeping Tier 2 and Tier 3 off by default.
Right to access what data has been collected about you.
Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") of any personal data we hold.
Right to data portability in a machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, write tocontact@redsunjapan.com. We respond within the statutory deadlines for your jurisdiction (typically 30 days for GDPR, 45 days for CCPA).

7. Changes to this policy

We will update this page if we change which cookies we use, add new tiers, or change the consent flow. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and may trigger a re-prompt of the consent banner on your next visit.

8. Questions

If anything on this page is unclear, or you want to know exactly which cookies were set during a specific visit, write tocontact@redsunjapan.com with the date and time of the visit (taken from your browser history) and we will pull the server log.

For the full legal framework that governs cookies, data processing, and your rights, see thePrivacy Policy. For information on commercial relationships and editorial standards, see theAffiliate Disclosure.