Both Canada and Japan have way stricter privacy laws than the United States so I would not be surprised if a Japanese company denying service to Canadian customers because the latter choose not to waive their privacy rights to a level below that of both Canada and Japan is against the law in both Canada and Japan.
You realise a private company can refuse to do business with you for pretty much any reason which doesn't violate human rights agreements? They're well within their rights to stop servicing North American (or any other) customers, to change their ToS, to make all sorts of other changes you might not like. Your remedy is not longer dealing with them if you don't agree to those changes.
Actually, US and Canada have many banking agreements and similar system, making it easy for a US entity to open an account in Canada or the other way around. It makes sense to handle both countries at the same time in order to reduce deposit/withdrawal fees at the same time.
It is not that simple. Canada and the United States are very different countries with very different laws. In fact when it comes to opening an account with a
Canadian financial institution I would not be surprised at all if a Japanese citizen or entity would have have a way less problems than a US citizen or entity. The reason, which I suspect is the same reason behind this deal, FACTA. In any event here is a list of questions I placed in another thread on the Canadian issue.
Some questions from the perspective of a Canadian MtGox customer.
1 ) What is the location of the assets held BTC and fiat held by MtGox on behalf of the customer Japan or the United States?
2 ) What is the location for tax purposes where the trades take place Japan or the United States. Furthermore which tax treaty will apply to the business relationship that between Canada and Japan or that between Canada and the United States?
3 ) Which country's privacy laws apply to personal information of the customer Japan or the United States?
4 ) Will the customer be required to change banking information for withdrawals already on file with MtGox?
5 ) Will a Canadian customer be able to continue to receive funds in US dollars into a US Dollar account with a Canadian bank?
6 ) Will the customer be required to provide an IRS form W-8?
7 ) Will withdrawal limits change as a result of this for Trusted and Verified customers?
8 ) Will there be any restrictions as a result of this for logging into MtGox by Trusted or Verified customers from outside of Canada and the United States for example while travelling?
9 ) Will USD on deposit benefit from FDIC pass through insurance?
and some more that I thought about later.
10) How will the Canadian dollar denominated MtGox accounts be impacted by this?
11) What measures if any has Coinlab to comply with Canadian financial laws and regulations. Has Coinlab completed any of the registrations required in Canada?
12) How familiar are the principals of Coinlab with Canada and its laws and regulations. Have any of them visited Canada?
13) How will Coinlab deal with the Canadian GST/HST?
14) Will Coinlab be providing service in French? This is a requirement in many parts of Canada
Welcome to Canada / Bienvenue au Canada