Tsunagaaru.com | Terms of Use

Tsunagaaru.com - SocialNetworkingServiceSite

Definitions

Article 1

"The Services" refer to all the services offered on the Tsunagaaru website (hereafter called "this site") by the Japan Forum (TJF), a non-profit foundation of Tokyo, Japan.
"Member" refers to individuals who have accepted the Terms of Use and applied for TJF membership registration to avail themselves of these services and whose registration has been approved by TJF. A contractual relationship between TJF and the Member is formed based on the Terms of Use at the point at which TJF approves his or her registration.
"Users" refers to Members, applicants for membership registration, and viewers of this site.
"Intellectual property rights" refers to copyrights, patents,
new-design-for-practical-use rights, trademarks, design rights, portrait rights, publicity rights, and other types of intellectual rights (including rights to acquire those rights or to apply for their registration).
"Personal information" refers to the information that identifies a person as a specific individual, the information provided by applicants for membership on this site (name, gender, address, telephone number, email address, name of school, birth date, etc.)

Agreement with the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Article 2

To make use of the various services available on this site, it is necessary to read and agree with the terms of the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use of which the Privacy Policy is a part. Those who do not declare their agreement with the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy will not be able to access the services offered by TJF on this site. By submitting the agreement form regarding the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy at the time of membership registration, users declare that they understand and acknowledge the content of the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy; by submitting the agreement form, they consent to the obligation to honor the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy apply to all Members and all Members are required to abide by the terms of these documents not only at the time of their registration procedure but from that time forward.

Article 3

The Services are made available under the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

Registration

Article 4

Only persons applying for membership may fill out the application information. Completion of the application information by any person other than the prospective Member is not acceptable under any circumstances.
Persons TJF approves as Members are persons 12 years of age or older, who are attending either junior high or high school in Japan or institutions overseas that TJF recognizes as secondary school institutions, and who have submitted an agreement form regarding the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and have completed the registration application procedure as stipulated by TJF. Those who withdraw from enrollment in Japanese secondary schools or from institutions overseas recognized as secondary schools, as well as those who graduate from Japanese secondary schools or from institutions overseas recognized as secondary schools will automatically cease to be Members of this Site.
If TJF judges a person to be ineligible for membership, that person's membership may be canceled at the discretion of TJF even if Member registration has already been completed.
Users are prohibited to register under false pretenses at the time of membership application and input false information after registration in order to avail themselves of the various services provided to Members at the site. All information provided must be accurate and correct.
When a change must be made in the content of registration information, Members must promptly register the change, following the procedures prescribed by TJF. Members are obliged to manage and revise the content of registration so that their personal information is always accurate.
If, despite changes in registration information, a Member presents no notice of the change of information following the procedure designated by TJF, TJF will consider that there is no change in registration information.
TJF shall not be held responsible for any damages, whether they be direct or indirect, resulting from the Member's registration for membership.
The Member is obligated to keep secret the password for access to the site. Members may not use other Member's accounts, IDs (email addresses), or passwords. Passwords may not be shared with others, and should not be revealed to other persons.

Denial of Registration of Membership

Article 5

TJF may deem an application for membership unacceptable when the applicant appears to fall under any of the following categories:

The applicant is deemed liable to violate the Terms of Use.
When all or part of the information provided at registration is falsified, erroneous, or incomplete.
If the person has a past record of cancellation of registration for the Services.
In cases when the person is under 12 years of age.
When the person is not a student attending a junior high or senior high school in Japan or is not a student enrolled in an institution overseas recognized by TJF as a secondary school.
When the person is an adult ward, a person under curatorship, or a person under assistance and has not obtained the consent of the applicant's guardian or other person responsible.
In other cases when TJF does not judge it advisable that the person be registered for access to the site.

Prohibitions

Article 6

Members must refrain from any of the following actions or actions equivalent to them.

Violation of public order and decency.
Actions that may lead to criminal acts.
Violation of laws, ordinances, or other regulations.
Actions infringing on the copyrights or other intellectual property held by TJF, other Members, or third parties.
Injury to the property, assets, privacy, or any other right held by TJF, other Members, or third parties.
Defamation or slander of other Members or third parties.
Actions inflicting loss or suffering on other Members or third parties.
Posting of inappropriate images or site links.
Disclosure of own or third person’s personal information.
Solicitation of the personal information of others.
Election campaigning or activities equivalent to such as well as actions in violation of the Public Offices Elections Law and related laws.
Actions obstructing the operation of the Services.
False or fictitious registration or postings to the site.
Commercial activities, use of the site for the purpose of making a profit, or in preparation for making a profit.
Multiple registration by a single person or fraudulent registration.
Transmitting or posting any harmful computer program or data.
Other actions deemed inappropriate by TJF.

Expulsion and Other Disciplinary Measures

Article 7

TJF retains the right to expel, suspend or terminate a membership, without prior notification, when any of the following cases apply:

(1)	The Member submits false information at the time of registration application.
(2)	The Member falsifies the information already input.
(3)	Abuse of a password.
(4)	Disruption of the normal operations of the Services.
(5)	Violation of any of the items of the Terms of Use.
(6)	Serious damage to the honor and reputation of TJF.
(7)	Defamation or slander of a third party.
(8)	Infringement of the intellectual property rights held by third parties.
(9)	Violations of public order and decency.
(10)	Actions that may lead to or be associated with crimination acts.
(11)	Violation of laws, ordinances, and other regulations.
(12)	In other cases in which TJF deems the person inappropriate for membership.

Should any Member inflict damage on TJF through any of the actions listed above, TJF may make claim for monetary compensation for the damages received, regardless of whether it has already temporarily or permanently suspended that person's membership.

Conditions for Use of the Site, etc.

Article 8

Except with the express permission of TJF, Members may not reproduce, sell, publish or otherwise use for other than purely private purposes, any of the information obtained through access to these services.
Members may not have third parties engage in any of the actions described in the preceding paragraph.

Termination and Alteration of These Services

Article 9

TJF may, without prior notice and at the discretion of TJF, partially terminate, suspend temporarily, alter, or supplement these Services.
TJF may, by giving one month’s prior notification, terminate these Services.
Subsequent to its display for one month after posting all Members will be assumed to have read and acknowledged the notice of termination described in the preceding paragraph.
TJF shall not be held responsible for any loss, direct or indirect, whether it be deemed foreseeable or unforeseeable, that may be incurred as a result of the partial closing, temporary suspension, alteration, or supplementation as well as of the termination of the services.

Withdrawal

Article 10

Members shall notify TJF using the designated procedure of their intention to withdraw their membership. Membership will be cancelled following the completion of the withdrawal procedure and the individual information provided by applicants upon registration will be erased from the TJF database.

Compensation for Damages

Article 11

If a Member causes damage to TJF or to a third party or parties in violation of the Terms of Use, TJF shall be entitled to claim compensation for such damage from the Member, regardless of whether or not TJF has terminated permanently or temporarily suspended that Member's membership in accordance with the stipulations in Article 7 above.

Intellectual Rights

Article 12

The intellectual property rights to the information as well as images, audio or video clips, etc. (hereafter called "Information") uploaded by Members to the site in the course of using the site belong to these Members and Members shall guarantee permission to TJF or TJF-designated third parties to use this Information. When the Information does not belong to Members, Members guarantee to TJF that they have obtained permission from the legitimate rights-holders, as determined under laws and regulations, to use the holders’ Information (including permission for TJF and TJF-designated third parties to re-use the said Information). Permission for use as stated in this article includes reproduction, adaptation, enabling for transmission, automatic public transmission, etc. as stipulated in the Copyright Laws of Japan as well as all other rights not limited to that law.
Under the guarantees stipulated in this article, TJF or TJF-designated third parties may use and distribute Member's Information in notification materials and on the website in order to promote, notify, and introduce the content of the Services. Notification materials may be published in periodicals or business reports but is not limited thereto.
If a Member should run counter to the guarantees under this article, the said Member shall be held responsible for all the circumstances that arise from said violation (this includes, but not is limited to, damages inflicted on TJF, any TJF-designated third party, other Members, or third parties whose intellectual property rights have been infringed).

Limitations of Liability

Article 13

TJF shall not be held responsible for any damages incurred through the use of the Services, for any results from the use of information obtained from the Services, or for the legality, moral rectitude, accuracy, or approval of rights of the information itself.
TJF shall not be held responsible for troubles that may arise among Members through the use of the Services (proposal of actions that are illegal or violate public decency and morals, defamation of character, insult, violation of privacy, threat of assault, slander or defamation, harassment, etc.).
If the content of information posted to the Services infringes on rights of Members or third parties, or if troubles occur as the result of the infringement, TJF shall not be held responsible for the said infringement or troubles.
TJF shall not be held responsible to compensate for any damages arising from errors in display indications on the site that result from computer system trouble, or for other damages caused by any other trouble.
TJF shall not be held responsible to compensate Members for any damage attributable to Member's computers, communication lines, software or other aspects of the technological environment. In accordance with a separately prescribed procedure, TJF may notify Members about the environmental matters concerned.
TJF shall not be held responsible to provide compensation for any losses incurred as a result of the cessation or suspension of the Services or changes made in the content of the service.
TJF shall not be held responsible to provide compensation for any damages to member's computers, communication lines, software, etc. resulting from the downloading of files, infection by viruses, etc., via the Services or from third partie's websites.
TJF shall not be held responsible for losses resulting from the delay, change, suspension, termination, or elimination of the Services or from the loss of information posted through the Services, or for any other damages resulting from or relating to the Services.

Amendment of the Terms of Use

Article 14

TJF reserves the right to revise the articles of these Terms of Use as needed.
TJF will, prior to revision of these Terms of Use, promptly notify Members via email or on the website concerning the Services.
When TJF announces amendments of the Terms of Use pursuant to the preceding paragraphs, if Members have not withdrawn from membership after a TJF-determined period of time (if not otherwise stated, 1 week following the announcement) subsequent to the announcement, TJF will consider that Members are in agreement with the revision to the Terms of Use, and the revised Terms of Use will go into effect.
From the point after the amendments go into effect as stipulated in the preceding paragraph, Members may not claim that they have not been duly informed of the said changes in content or have not accepted the changes.

2 Exclusive Agreed Jurisdiction

Article 15

The Terms of Use shall be interpreted under the laws of Japan. If a dispute should arise between a Member and TJF, both parties shall agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo Summary Court or the Tokyo District Court in the first instance, depending on the amount claimed.

Additional Clause

These Terms of Use will come into effect on August 1, 2007.