Terms of Service

Note: This is an English translation of the original Japanese Terms of Service. In case of any discrepancies between the Japanese version and the English translation, the Japanese version shall prevail.

These Terms of Service (hereinafter referred to as the "Terms") set forth the terms and conditions that users must comply with when using the community service JapanChat (hereinafter referred to as "JapanChat") provided by PNYO LLC (hereinafter referred to as the "Company"), as well as the rights and obligations between the Company and users. Users who wish to use this service as a user are requested to read the entire text carefully before agreeing to these Terms. By agreeing to these Terms, a contract for the use of this service (hereinafter referred to as the "Usage Contract") in accordance with the provisions of these Terms is established between the user and the Company.

Article 1: Application

• These Terms aim to define the rights and obligations between the Company and Users (as defined in Article 2) regarding the use of the Service (as defined in Article 2), and apply to all relationships between Users and the Company regarding the use of the Service.
• Rules, regulations, etc. regarding the Service that the Company posts on the App (as defined in Article 2) from time to time shall constitute a part of these Terms.

Article 2: Definitions

The following terms used in these Terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

• "Intellectual Property Rights" means copyrights, patent rights, utility model rights, trademark rights, design rights, and other intellectual property rights (including rights to obtain these rights or rights to apply for registration, etc. of these rights).
• "App" means the application named JapanChat provided by the Company (including the application after its name has been changed for any reason).
• "Posted Information" means the "Posted Information" defined in Article 10.
• "Registration Information" means the "Registration Information" defined in Article 3.
• "User" means an individual or legal entity that uses the Service.
• "Service" means the service named JapanChat provided by the Company (including the service after its name has been changed for any reason).
• "External SNS Service" means a social networking service provided by Facebook, Twitter, LINE, Instagram, or other providers designated by the Company, which has functions such as user authentication, disclosure of friend relationships, publication of content within the external social network, and is used for the implementation of the Service.
• "External SNS Provider" means the service provider of the External SNS Service.
• "External SNS Terms of Use" means the terms that define the rights and obligations between Users and the External SNS Provider.

Article 3: Registration

• The Company may require User registration for Users to use the Service. In this case, Users shall apply for registration to use the Service by providing certain information (hereinafter referred to as "Registration Information") as specified by the Company in the manner prescribed by the Company.
• Registration must be carried out by the individual or legal entity who will actually use the Service, and in principle, registration by a proxy is not allowed. When applying for registration, Users must provide true, accurate, and up-to-date information to the Company.
• Please do not post information that can identify individuals, such as real names, addresses, personal photographs, etc., in the Registration Information or other information posted on the Service.
• The Company may refuse registration if a User who has applied for registration pursuant to this Article falls under any of the following:
  1. When the Company determines that there is a risk of violating these Terms
  2. When all or part of the Registration Information provided to the Company is false, contains errors, or has omissions
  3. When the person has previously had their registration for the Service cancelled
  4. When the Company determines that the Registration Information provided to the Company does not match the information provided by the User to the Company or its subsidiaries, affiliated companies, or business partners for services other than this Service
  5. When the person is a minor, adult ward, person under curatorship, or person under assistance and has not obtained the consent of their legal representative, guardian, curator, or assistant
  6. When the Company determines that the person is an anti-social force, etc. (meaning organized crime groups, organized crime group members, right-wing organizations, anti-social forces, or other similar persons; the same shall apply hereinafter) or is involved in maintenance, operation, or management of anti-social forces, etc. through funding or otherwise, or has some interaction or involvement with anti-social forces, etc.
  7. When the Company otherwise determines that registration is not appropriate
• If there are any changes to the Registration Information, Users shall promptly notify the Company of such changes in the manner prescribed by the Company and submit documents requested by the Company.

Article 4: Use of the Service

• Users may use the Service in accordance with these Terms and in the manner prescribed by the Company during the effective period of the Usage Contract. However, if registration is required under the preceding Article, Users may use the Service after the Company approves the registration and the registration is completed.
• The Service is not intended for introducing members of the opposite sex. Users must not send information related to dating members of the opposite sex using the Service.

Article 5: Chat and Voice Calls, etc.

• Users may engage in chat, voice calls, and other forms of communication with other Users in the manner prescribed by the Company. Users shall select their communication partners on the Service at their own responsibility, and the Company shall not be liable for any damages suffered by Users in connection with communications on the Service, except in cases attributable to the Company.

Article 6: Management of Passwords and User IDs

• The Company may assign passwords and User IDs to Users. Users shall manage and store their passwords and User IDs at their own responsibility and shall not allow third parties to use them or lend, transfer, change names, sell, etc.
• Users shall be responsible for any damages resulting from insufficient management of passwords or User IDs, errors in use, use by third parties, etc., and the Company shall not be held responsible.
• If Users become aware that their password or User ID has been stolen or is being used by a third party, they shall immediately notify the Company and follow the Company's instructions.

Article 7: Prohibited Acts

• Users shall not engage in any of the following acts when using the Service:
  1. Sending information seeking or related to dating members of the opposite sex
  2. Sending obscene information such as nudity or private parts, information equivalent to child pornography or child abuse, or information harmful to minors, or requesting the sending of such information
  3. Exchanging IDs of external SNS services
  4. Acts that infringe or may infringe directly or indirectly on the intellectual property rights, portrait rights, privacy rights, honor, or other rights or interests of the Company, other Users, External SNS Providers, or other third parties
  5. Acts that discriminate against or defame the Company, other Users, External SNS Providers, or other third parties, or that promote such actions
  6. Acts related to criminal activities or acts that violate public order and morals
  7. Acts for the purpose of sexual acts or obscene acts
  8. Acts that induce or promote the running away of minors
  9. Acts of bullying, intimidation, or inducing or promoting such acts
  10. Sending information with cruel content or other information that causes discomfort to others
  11. Sending violent information or information that incites violence
  12. Acts of impersonating a third party or falsely claiming to be in partnership or cooperation with a third party
  13. Acts of intentionally spreading false information
  14. Acts of inducing or soliciting others to commit suicide or self-harm
  15. Acts of spam, such as indiscriminately sending messages to other Users
  16. Disclosing information such as addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, credit card information, etc. of third parties without their permission
  17. Acts for commercial purposes such as business, advertising, solicitation, etc. (excluding those approved by the Company)
  18. Acts that violate laws or internal regulations of industry associations to which the Company or Users belong
  19. Acts of sending information containing computer viruses or other harmful computer programs
  20. Acts of altering information that can be used in relation to the Service
  21. Acts that place a burden on the Company's network, such as sending data exceeding a certain data capacity specified by the Company through the Service
  22. Acts that may interfere with the use of the Service by other Users or the operation of the Service by the Company
  23. Acts that may cause discomfort to other Users, such as sending inappropriate messages that include expressions that induce or promote drug abuse or other anti-social content
  24. Acts that fall under multi-level marketing
  25. Acts that fall under religious activities or solicitation for religious organizations
  26. Other acts that the Company deems inappropriate
• If the Company determines that an act of sending information by a User on the Service falls under or may fall under any of the items in the preceding paragraph, the Company may delete, modify, etc. all or part of such information without prior notice to the User. The Company shall not be liable for any damages incurred by Users due to measures taken by the Company based on this paragraph. The Company is not obligated to take such measures.

Article 8: Suspension of the Service, etc.

• The Company may suspend or interrupt the use of all or part of the Service without prior notice to Users in any of the following cases:
  1. When performing regular or emergency maintenance or inspection of computer systems related to the Service
  2. When computers, communication lines, etc. stop due to an accident
  3. When the operation of the Service becomes impossible due to force majeure such as fire, power outage, natural disaster, etc.
  4. When problems, interruptions or suspensions of service provision, suspension of cooperation with the Service, specification changes, etc. occur in the External SNS Service
  5. When the Company otherwise determines that suspension or interruption is necessary
• The Company may terminate the provision of the Service at its discretion. In this case, the Company shall notify Users in advance.
• The Company shall not be liable for any damages incurred by Users due to measures taken by the Company based on this Article.

Article 9: Equipment Responsibility, etc.

• Users shall prepare and maintain, at their own expense and responsibility, smartphones and other devices, communication lines, and other communication environments, etc. necessary to receive the Service.
• Users shall, at their own expense and responsibility, take security measures such as prevention of computer virus infection, unauthorized access, and information leakage according to their Service usage environment.
• Even if the Company has stored messages and other information sent and received by Users for a certain period of time for operational purposes, the Company is not obligated to store such information and may delete this information at any time. The Company shall not be liable for any damages incurred by Users due to the deletion of such information.
• When Users start using the Service or during the use of the Service, if they install apps, etc. on their smartphones, etc., Users shall pay sufficient attention so that the information they possess is not lost, altered, or their devices are not damaged, etc. The Company shall not be liable for any such damages incurred by Users.

Article 10: Attribution of Rights

• All ownership and intellectual property rights of the App and the Service belong to the Company or those who have licensed the Company, and the license to use the Service based on the registration stipulated in these Terms does not mean the transfer or licensing of intellectual property rights of the Company or those who have licensed the Company regarding the App or the Service, except as expressly stated in these Terms. Users shall not engage in any acts that may infringe on the intellectual property rights of the Company or those who have licensed the Company (including, but not limited to, disassembly, decompilation, and reverse engineering) for any reason.
• The intellectual property rights of text, images, videos, and other data (hereinafter referred to as "Posted Information") posted or otherwise transmitted by Users on the App or the Service shall belong to the Users. However, the Company may freely use (including reproduction, copying, modification, sublicensing to third parties, and all other uses) the Posted Information free of charge.
• The Company may analyze the Posted Information by itself or by entrusting to a third party for the sole purpose of (i) determining whether the Posted Information falls under any of the following items or (ii) constructing and operating a system to eliminate Posted Information that falls under the following items from the Service. However, the Company will stop analyzing the Posted Information of a User if the User requests the Company to stop such analysis.
  1. Posted Information whose content violates laws or these Terms, etc.
  2. Posted Information that induces or may induce illegal acts
  3. Posted Information that infringes or may infringe on the rights of third parties
  4. Posted Information that the Company deems inappropriate other than (1) to (3) above

Article 11: Termination, etc.

• The Company may, without prior notice or demand, temporarily suspend the use of the Service or terminate the Usage Contract with a User if the User falls under any of the following:
  1. When the User violates any provision of these Terms
  2. When it is found that there is a false fact in the Registration Information
  3. When the User has used or attempted to use the Service for a purpose or method that may cause damage to the Company, other Users, External SNS Providers, or other third parties
  4. When the User becomes unable to receive services or connect with the External SNS Provider due to violation of the External SNS Terms of Use or other reasons
  5. When the User has interfered with the operation of the Service by any means
  6. When the User becomes insolvent or unable to pay, or when a petition for the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings, civil rehabilitation proceedings, corporate reorganization proceedings, special liquidation, or similar proceedings is filed
  7. When the User's checks or bills are dishonored, or when the User is subject to a suspension of transactions by a clearing house or similar measures
  8. When an order or petition for attachment, provisional attachment, provisional disposition, compulsory execution, or auction is filed against the User
  9. When the User becomes subject to a disposition for failure to pay taxes and public dues
  10. When the User dies or receives a ruling for the commencement of guardianship, curatorship, or assistance
  11. When there has been no use of the Service for more than 3 months and no response to contact from the Company
  12. When the User falls under any of the items in Article 3
  13. When the Company otherwise determines that it is not appropriate to continue the User's registration
• If any of the events in the preceding paragraph occurs, the User shall automatically lose the benefit of time for all obligations owed to the Company and shall immediately pay all debts to the Company.
• Users may terminate the Usage Contract at any time by notifying the Company in the manner prescribed by the Company.
• The Company may terminate the Usage Contract at any time by giving 30 days' notice to the User.
• The Company shall not be liable for any damages incurred by Users due to actions taken by the Company based on this Article.

Article 12: Disclaimer and Exemption

• The Company is not responsible for being involved in communication between Users, and does not guarantee the content of Users' communications, troubles between Users, the actual existence of Users, etc. The Service is provided on an "as is" basis, and the Company makes no warranty of any kind regarding the Service, including fitness for a particular purpose, commercial usefulness, completeness, continuity, etc.
• Even if Users obtain any information directly or indirectly from the Company regarding the Service, the App, other Users of the Service, or other matters, the Company does not make any warranty to Users beyond what is stipulated in these Terms.
• While the Service may cooperate with External SNS Services, it does not guarantee such cooperation, and the Company shall not be liable if the Service cannot cooperate with External SNS Services.
• When the Service cooperates with External SNS Services, Users shall comply with the External SNS Terms of Use at their own expense and responsibility, and the Company shall not be liable for any disputes that arise between Users and the External SNS Providers operating such External SNS Services.
• Users shall investigate at their own responsibility and expense whether the use of the Service violates laws, internal regulations of industry associations, etc. applicable to Users, and the Company does not guarantee in any way that the use of the Service by Users complies with laws, internal regulations of industry associations, etc. applicable to Users.
• The Company shall not be liable for any transactions, communications, disputes, etc. that occur between Users and other Users, External SNS Providers, or other third parties in connection with the Service or the App, and Users shall process and resolve such matters at their own responsibility.
• The Company shall not be liable for any damages incurred by Users due to the interruption, stoppage, termination, inability to use, or change of the Service provision by the Company, deletion or loss of Users' messages or information, cancellation of Users' registration, loss of data due to use of the Service, failure or damage of devices, or any other matters related to the Service.
• Even if links to other websites are provided from the App or links to the App are provided from other websites, the Company shall not be liable for any reason whatsoever for such websites and the information obtained from them.
• The Company may disclose Users' Registration Information, Posted Information, IP addresses, and other information related to Users based on laws or orders, demands, or requests from courts, investigative agencies, or other government agencies, and shall not be liable for any damages incurred by Users due to such disclosure.
• If the Company suspects that a User is engaging in any of the acts listed in Article 7, the Company may view messages and other information sent and received by the User, and the User shall be deemed to have consented to such viewing.

Article 13: User's Liability for Compensation, etc.

• If Users cause damage to the Company by violating these Terms or in connection with the use of the Service, they must compensate the Company for such damage.
• If Users receive a claim from or become involved in a dispute with other Users, External SNS Providers, or other third parties in connection with the Service, they shall immediately notify the Company of the content, handle and resolve such claim or dispute at their own expense and responsibility, and report the progress and result to the Company upon request from the Company.
• If the Company receives any claim from other Users, External SNS Providers, or other third parties for infringement of rights or other reasons in connection with Users' use of the Service, Users must compensate the Company for the amount that the Company is forced to pay to such third parties based on such claim.

Article 14: Confidentiality

• In these Terms, "Confidential Information" means all information related to technology, business, operations, finance, organization, and other matters of the Company that Users receive from the Company in writing, orally, or by recording media, or that Users become aware of, in connection with the Usage Contract or the Service. However, the following shall be excluded from Confidential Information: (1) information that was already generally known or already known at the time it was provided or disclosed by the Company or at the time it became known; (2) information that became generally known after it was provided, disclosed, or became known by the Company for reasons not attributable to Users; (3) information lawfully obtained from a third party with the authority to provide or disclose it without being bound by confidentiality obligations; (4) information developed independently without relying on Confidential Information; and (5) information confirmed in writing by the Company as not requiring confidentiality.
• Users shall use Confidential Information only for the purpose of using the Service and shall not provide, disclose, or leak Confidential Information to third parties without the written consent of the Company.
• Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, Users may disclose Confidential Information based on laws, court orders, or demands or requests from government agencies. However, in such cases, Users must promptly notify the Company of such orders, demands, or requests and follow the Company's instructions.
• When Users duplicate documents or magnetic recording media containing Confidential Information, they shall obtain the Company's prior written consent and strictly manage the duplicates in accordance with this Article.
• Users shall, upon request from the Company at any time, promptly return or dispose of Confidential Information and documents or other recording media containing or including Confidential Information, as well as all copies thereof, in accordance with the Company's instructions.

Article 15: Effective Period

The Usage Contract shall come into effect on the day when Users agree to these Terms and shall remain in effect between the Company and Users until the day when the Usage Contract with the User is terminated or the day when the provision of the Service is terminated, whichever comes earlier.

Article 16: Changes to these Terms, etc.

• The Company may freely change the content of the Service.
• The Company may change these Terms (including rules, regulations, etc. related to the Service posted on the App; the same shall apply in this paragraph). When changing these Terms, the Company shall notify Users in advance of the fact that changes will be made, the content of the changed terms, and their effective date, and the changed terms shall apply from the effective date.

Article 17: Contact/Notification

Inquiries about the Service and other contacts or notifications from Users to the Company, and notifications about changes to these Terms and other contacts or notifications from the Company to Users shall be made in the manner prescribed by the Company.

Article 18: Transfer of these Terms, etc.

• Users may not transfer, assign, provide as security, or otherwise dispose of their position under the Usage Contract or rights or obligations under these Terms to any third party without the prior written consent of the Company.
• In the event that the Company transfers the business related to the Service to another company, it may transfer the position under the Usage Contract, the rights and obligations under these Terms, and the Users' Registration Information and other customer information to the transferee of such business transfer, and Users shall be deemed to have consented to such transfer in advance by this paragraph. The business transfer referred to in this paragraph includes not only ordinary business transfers but also company splits and any other cases where the business is transferred.

Article 19: Entire Agreement

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between the Company and Users regarding the matters contained in these Terms and supersede any prior agreements, representations, and understandings between the Company and Users regarding the matters contained in these Terms, whether oral or written.

Article 20: Severability

Even if any provision of these Terms or any part thereof is determined to be invalid or unenforceable under the Consumer Contract Act or other laws and regulations, the remaining provisions of these Terms and the remaining parts of the provision that has been determined to be partially invalid or unenforceable shall continue to be in full force and effect, and the Company and Users shall endeavor to modify the invalid or unenforceable provision or part to the extent necessary to make it legal and enforceable while maintaining the intent and economic and legal equivalence of such invalid or unenforceable provision or part.

Article 21: Survival

The provisions of Articles 6 through 14, Articles 18 through 20, and Articles 22 through 24 shall survive the termination of the Usage Contract.

Article 22: Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Japan, and the Tokyo District Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in the first instance over any disputes arising from or related to these Terms.

Article 23: Resolution through Consultation

The Company and Users shall consult with each other in good faith and promptly resolve any matters not provided for in these Terms or any doubts arising in the interpretation of these Terms.

Article 24: Language

In the event of any conflict between the Japanese version and the translated version of these Terms, the Japanese version shall prevail.