Terms of Services

July 2, 2018

Please be noted that this “Terms of Services” is translation of Japanese one and that this is only for your reference.

This “Terms of Service” is for “Sake Search!“(“Our website”).
Our website was established with an aim to become the world’s best portal site of Japanese Sake.

This website was made in 2015 after the former website made in 2012. Before that, there was another former and very original one made in 2006, so it has been more than 10 years since the very first establishment.
However, it didn’t have enough contents and functions as a portal site, and only our database searching and blogs were available. This renewed website was created to become a more useful and attractive website for users adding “My Page” function and other various services.

Due to this change, we need to collect the users’ private information in order to add “My Page” function. This means that we also need to make the policy and regulation regarding handling the private information according to the related laws. In addition, installing other new functions needs new user rules, otherwise there will be troubles which will be inconvenience to the users.
Therefore, herewith we describe the terms of service (“terms”). Please read these terms and follow the rules when you use our website to enable yourself to use this website comfortably.

1 General Provision

– These terms are made for our website’s services, and apply to all the users who view or use our website.
– “Privacy Policy” which exists separately contains some parts of these terms, and “Privacy Policy” also applies to all the users.
– These terms can be modified without the users’ agreement. In that case, we announce the revision on our website.
– By viewing or using our website/services, all the users agree with these terms.

2 Our services

– We do not guarantee the accuracy, objectivity, and value of the information we provide in our website. It also applies to the information from other websites which are linked from our website.
– We can suspend, change, or stop our services without prior notice due to maintenance, change in market situation or management environment, accidents, or disasters.

3 Membership

– The user can become a member of our service by registering the required information to make a user account.
– When the user does the registration, the information will be communicated on SSL (Secure Sockets Layer, data encryption technology for the internet communication), and the information is encrypted to prevent the third parties from knowing it. We have also taken measures against computer virus installing anti-virus software and so on.
– We sometimes provide different services to the users who are not members, or who have not completed the registration process from the services for the member users. The services we provide are arranged and decided by us voluntarily, and can be changed by us at any time.
– The member account and the password (“log-in information”) have to be registered and managed under the responsibility of each user. We will not take any responsibility for troubles resulting from the user’s mis-management of the log-in information, misunderstanding upon use, or the third parties’ use. The user has responsibility for using services (including those which are not ours) using the log-in information, and the user must take our services with agreement with our terms. We will not take any responsibility for the troubles causing from using services which need the log-in information, or related troubles between the user and the administrator of our services.
– One user can do membership registration only once.
– The user loses all the rights and benefits associated with the membership of our website and services at withdrawal.
– The information which the user contributed to our website will not be deleted even after the user’s withdrawal from the membership. The user must agree with it in advance.
– Even after the user finished withdraw process, the section 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of these terms will be effective to the user.

4 Prohibited Conducts

The user is prohibited to do the things below upon using our website and services. If the user takes any conducts mentioned below, we will take any necessary action including stopping the user’s use, deleting the information which the user contributed, and damage claim. In that case, we will not take any legal responsibilities.
– Conducts which violate the law of Japan, or the nation where the user locates when using our website and services
– Providing, contributing, publishing, or sending any information which is against public order and morality, or information which violates people’s rights or comfortableness on/through our website and services
– Collecting other users’ private information and historical information without permission
– Any obstructing actions to our services, advertisings which we distribute, and other services and advertisings which are provided on our website
– Registering or contributing information which is against the fact
– Diverting other people’s pictures, photos, and writings.
– Violating rights of property such as ownership or intellectual property of other users, the third parties, or our website
– Violating privacy or reputation of other users, the third parties, or us
– Slandering other people including other users, the third parties, or our website
– Contributing information which is expressed in ways which give people discomfort, such as information against our ideas or general societal terms
– Commercial purpose conducts such as advertising items or services
– Contributing information which is not related to our website
– Obstructing our smooth operation with virus programs or illegal accesses
– Copying, editing, distributing, or reselling the information or services which we provide
– Any other conducts which are against the public morality, or which we see as infelicity

5 Ownership of Rights

– All the intellectual properties including copyrights or other rights of property for sentences, pictures, photos, logos, and programs which are provided on our website belong to our website, our administrators, or the proper owners.
– Regarding the intellectual properties which the user created and provided, the rights are reserved by the user who created and provided.
– When the contents are created by the user uniquely on our website and the user has the copyright for it, we can revise these contents at our side for the improvement of our services (ex. cutting and copying the first part of the user’s texts etc.). We also can use the contents for better services and better advertisings without compensation, non-exclusively, and indefinitely, such as providing the contents to other websites or other media. The user must permit our such actions (including copying, publishing, transmission, distributing, handing over, lending, translating, and adaptation) before using our website/services, and the user also must agree with not exercising the personal moral rights as the owner.
– We do not take any responsibility when the user violated the third parties’ intellectual property rights upon using our website.

6 Modification of these terms

These terms can be changed without informing to the users in advance. The modified terms will have its force at publishing on this website, except in case that we specially mention the timing.

7 Privacy

We manage the users’ private information carefully and strictly, and we respect the privacy to the utmost. We describe the details regarding the privacy information in “Privacy Policy” which we have prepared separately.

8 Exemption Clause

We do not take any responsibility for the matters below upon the user’s use of our website;
– Any inconvenience causing from the user’s loss, theft, surrender, or lending of the user account
– Troubles between users, or between the user and the third parties (including advertisers)
– Inconveniences causing from problems of hardware or network which the user use
– Loss of the user’s registered information or contributed information due to irresistible forces such as accidents or disasters
– Deleting the user’s registered information or contributed information which was done according to our terms, guideline, and policy.
– Inconveniences which the user or the third parties received due to suspension, change in services, and stopping services (including the case in the second point of “2 Our Services”) of our website
– Inconveniences the user or the third parties received causing from problems of hardware or network which we use
– Other troubles the user or the third parties received upon using our website

9 Governing Law and Jurisdiction

– These terms are interpreted according to laws of Japan.
– Tokyo District Court will have exclusive jurisdiction in the first instance in respect of conflicts which are related to our services or terms.