Terms and Conditions

The Terms of Use (hereinafter referred to as the “Terms”) set forth the matters to be observed by the Users (defined in the Article 2) as well as the rights and obligations of ASUKA Tourism Interpreter & Guide Association (hereinafter referred to as the “Association”) and the Users with respect to the use of ATIGA japan-tours” provided by the Association. Every user desiring the registration for the service will be required to read through the entire text of the Terms carefully before agreeing thereto. 

Article 1
Scope of Application

1.1 The Terms shall define the rights and obligations of the Association and the Users, and shall apply to any relationship between the Association and the Users with respect to the use of the Service (as defined in Article 2).

1.2 The rules and regulations concerning the Service which may be posted by the Association on the Website (as defined in Article 2) from time to time shall constitute part of the Terms.

Article 2
Definitions

For the purposes of the Terms, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them as follows:

(1) “Applicant” means the “Applicant” defined in Article 3.

(2) “Supplier” means the User who provides the Traveler with the Product Service through the Service as a guide with or without a qualification of Guide-Interpreter, travel agency, activity provider or transport service company.

(3) “Guide-Interpreter” means the national qualification for service of escort and guidance under the Guide-Interpreter Business Law of Japan or any other similar qualifications in any other countries; provided, however, in a country where there is no such qualification, a person in a certain status or condition may be deemed to be the Guide-Interpreter, at the Association’s sole discretion, in which case such status or condition shall be deemed the qualification of Guide Interpreter.

(4) “Intellectual Property Rights” means copyrights, patents, utility model rights, trademark rights, and any other intellectual property rights including, without limitation, the rights to acquire these rights or to file an application for the registration of any of such rights.

(5) “Registration Information” means the “Registration Information” defined in Article 3.

(6) “Service” means the service provided by the Association including, without limitation, the new service in cases where the name or contents of the Service are changed.

(7) “Terms of Use for Third Party SNS” means the terms applicable between the User and the Third Party SNS Providers.

(8) “Third Party SNS Services” means social networking services provided by third parties such as the Facebook, which have functions of user identification, disclosure of relationships with friends, posting of contents, etc. and which shall be used in relation to the Service.

(9) “Third Party SNS Providers” means the entities which provide the Third Party SNS Services.

(10) “Product” means the Product for which the Product Service is provided by the Supplier.

(11) “Product Agreement” means the “Product Agreement” defined in Article 6.4.

(12) “Product Service” means service of escort and guidance concerning travel provided by Supplier to Travelers.

(13) “Traveler” means the User who uses the Service to participate in the Product.

(14) “User” means an individual or entity who is registered as a user of the Service in accordance with the provisions of Article 3. For the avoidance of doubt, the Supplier and the Traveler shall be the User.

(15) “Website” means the website on the Internet operated by the Association with the domain of “atigajapan-tours.com”, including, without limitation, the new website in cases where the domain or contents of the Website are changed.

Article 3
Registration

3.1 Any individual or entity which desires to use the Service (hereinafter referred to as the “Applicant”) may apply to the Association for the registration as a user of the Service by agreeing to abide by the Terms and providing the Association with the information required by the Association (hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Information”) in a manner specified by the Association.

3.2 The application for the registration shall be made by an individual or an entity that will use the Service, and applications by proxy or unauthorized person will not be accepted. For each application for the registration, the Applicant shall provide true, correct and updated information to the Association.

3.3 The acceptance or rejection of applications for the registration will be determined by the Association in accordance with the criteria established by the Association. The registration of an Applicant as a User shall be deemed to have been completed when the Association issues to the Applicant a notice stating that the application has been accepted.

3.4 The completion of the registration under Article 3.3 constitutes the execution of the agreement between the Association and the User with respect to the use of the Service under the provisions of the Terms (hereinafter referred to as “Service Agreement”), whereby the User shall be entitled to use the Service in such a manner as specified by the Association from the date of the completion of the registration.

3.5 The Association may reject the registration if:

(1) the Association determines that the Applicant is likely to violate the Terms;

(2) the Registration Information submitted to the Association contain, in whole or part, false or erroneous statements or omissions;

(3) the registration of the Applicant for the use of the Service has once been cancelled;

(4) the Applicant is a minor, an adult ward, a person under curatorship or a person under assistance, and has not obtained the necessary consent of his/her respective legal representative, guardian, curator or assistant; or

(5) the Association determines that the Applicant is antisocial forces (which mean gang groups, gang members, right-wing groups or other similar entities; the same shall apply hereinafter), or the Association determines that the Applicant is associated with or involved in antisocial forces in any manner such as cooperating or engaging in maintenance, operation, management of antisocial forces through funding or any other method.

(6) the Association otherwise determines that the registration would be inappropriate.

Article 4
Changes in Registration Information

In the event of any change in the Registration Information, the User shall promptly notify the Association of such change in accordance with the procedure specified by the Association and submit to the Association the required information.

Article 5
Management of Password and User ID

5.1 The User shall be fully responsible for the security and safekeeping of his/her password and user ID and the User shall not cause or permit any third party to use the password or user ID nor shall it loan, assign, or cause to be owned in the name of another person or to be sold or purchased the password or user ID or otherwise cause the password or user ID to be an object of any activity similar to the foregoing.

5.2 The User shall be responsible and liable for any damage incurred by the User as a result of inadequate management, wrong or improper use, or the use by a third party of the password or user ID. In no event shall the Association be responsible or liable for such damage.

5.3 In cases where the password or user ID is found to be stolen or used by a third party, the User shall immediately notify the Association to that effect and follow the instructions provided by the Assotiation.

Article 6
Use of the Service

6.1 Use by the Users

(1) During the effective term of the Service Agreement, the User shall have the right to use the Service in such a manner as directed by the Association in accordance with, and within the scope of, the Terms.

(2) The User shall, with its own costs and responsibilities, prepare and maintain computers, software and other devices, and telecommunication line and other communication environment which are necessary to use the Service.

(3) The User shall, with its own costs and responsibilities, prepare and maintain security systems suitable for the User’s environment for use of the Service to avoid attack of computer virus, unauthorized access, information leakage, etc.

6.2 Use by the Travelers

(1) The Traveler may choose a Product from the Website. In the case where the Traveler wishes to participate in a Product, the Traveler shall fill in the booking form for the Product online pursuant to the instruction by the Association.

(2) The Traveler shall pay the price of the Product Service (hereinafter referred to as the “Product Price”) in a manner specified by the Association.

6.3 Use by the Suppliers

(1) The Supplier shall provide on the Website his/ her profile information and Product information regarding the Product Service to be provided by the Supplier pursuant to the instruction by the Association.

(2) The Supplier shall make a reasonable effort to make certain response to the Traveler within twenty-four  hours after Traveler has filled in the booking form pursuant to the Article 6.2.

6.4 Completion of the Product Agreement

The agreement regarding use of Product Service between the Supplier and the Traveler (hereinafter referred to as the “Product Agreement”) shall be deemed to have been made and entered into at the time of acceptance of the booking by the Supplier. For the avoidance of doubt, the Association shall not be a party to the Product Agreement.

Article 7
Treatment of User Information

7.1 Treatment by the Association of the User’s personal information shall be subject to the provisions of our Privacy Policy, which are separately prescribed, and the User hereby agrees to treatment by the Association of the User’s information subject to such Privacy Policy.

7.2 The Traveler hereby agrees that his/her information (including personal information) held by the Association will be disclosed and provided to the Supplier with whom the Traveler executes the Product Agreement. The Supplier hereby agrees that his/her information (including personal information) held by the Association will be disclosed and provided to the Traveler with whom the Supplier executes the Product Agreement.. Contents of personal information provided in accordance with this 7.2 are specified in our Privacy Policy.

Article 8
Duties of Suppliers

8.1 The Supplier shall not entrust wholly or partly the Product Service to a third party including other Suppliers.

8.2 The Supplier shall not provide service regarding escort and guidance concerning travel except through the Service, to the Travelers that the Supplier has got to know, has been acquainted with or has got any relationship with through the Service.

8.3 In the event of breach of Article 8.2, the Supplier shall pay the Association as a penalty two times the amount of the highest Product Price per Traveler that the Supplier has set forth before such breach, per Traveler regarding which such breach occurs.

Article 9
Payment and Fee of the Supplier

9.1 The Supplier hereby authorizes the Association to receive, on behalf of the Supplier, the Product Price to be paid by the Travelers.

9.2 The Supplier shall pay the amount separately designated by the Association (the “Fee”) to the Association as the consideration for the use of the Service.

9.3 The Association shall pay the amount calculated by deducting the Fee from the amount of the Product Price received by the Association, in accordance with the time and condition separately designated by the Association. The Association receives the Fee by such deduction. The currency in which the Association pays the amount above and exchange rate (if necessary) applied for calculation of the amount to be paid shall be determined by the Association.

9.4 In case where the Product Agreement is canceled, Articles 9.1 through 9.3 shall be applied mutatis mutandis by regarding the cancelation fee as the Product Price.

Article 10
Cancel Policy

10.1 In case that Traveler wishes to cancel the Product Agreement, the Traveler shall follow the cancel policy separately set forth by the Association.

10.2 The Supplier shall not change the cancel policy or any other conditions regarding the Product Service stipulated in the Terms or otherwise designated by the Association without the Association’s prior consent. 

10.3 In case of Force Majeure (which means any causes beyond the reasonable control of the Supplier, including but not limited to, fire, storm, flood earthquake, war, terror or any other act of God), the Supplier shall make its best efforts to reschedule the Product through communication with the Travelers. In cases where the terms and conditions of rescheduled Product (including but not limited to, date, hour, price, etc.) has been agreed with the Travelers, the Supplier shall immediately notify the Association of such detail. (If such agreed price is lower than the original price, the Association shall reimburse the difference to the Travelers.) In cases where the terms and conditions of rescheduled Product can not be agreed despite such effort, the Supplier may cancel the Product Agreement without any penalty, however a notice of such cancelation shall be immediately given to the Association. The Traveler hereby agrees to such Supplier’s right to cancel. In the case of any conflict between the Users regarding whether the Force Majeure applies, the Users shall follow the decision of the Association. Except as stipulated in this Article 10.3, the Supplier shall not cancel the Product Agreement once the Product Agreement has been made and entered into.

Article 11
Prohibited Activities

11.1 The User shall be prohibited from engaging in any of the following activities with respect to the use of the Service:

(1) to perform any act which would infringe any Intellectual Property Rights, portrait rights, privacy rights, credits, or other rights or interests of the Association, other Users, the Third Party SNS Providers or other third parties (including any act which raise such infringement directly or indirectly);

(2) to perform an act associated with a criminal act, or an act against public order and good morals;

(3) to transmit information which is indecent or harmful for minors;

(4) to transmit information related to relationship with people of opposite sex;

(5) to transmit false information;

(6) to perform any act which violates any law or regulation, or the internal rules of the entity of which the Association or the User is a member;

(7) to transmit information containing computer viruses or other harmful computer programs;

(8) to modify information which can be used for the purpose of the Service;

(9) to transmit through the Service data the volume of which is larger than the size of data specified by the Association;

(10) to perform any act which likely to interfere with the operation of the Service by the Association;

(11) to make a third party (including other User) to participate in the Product instead of him/herself; or

(12) to perform any other acts determined by the Association to be inappropriate.

11.2 In cases where the Association determines that the act of the User in the Service falls or is likely to fall under any of the items of Article 11.1, the Association may delete all or part of such information without any prior notice to the User. The Association shall in no event be responsible or liable for any damage incurred by the User as a result of an action taken by the Association pursuant to this Article 11.2.

Article 12
Discontinuation or Suspension of the Service

12.1 In the event of any of the following circumstances, the Association shall reserve the right to permanently discontinue or temporarily suspend all or part of the use of the Service without prior notice to the User:

(1) When the Association conducts scheduled or unscheduled inspections or maintenance of the computer systems relating to the Service;

(2) When a computer or telecommunications network ceases to operate or function as a result of an accident;

(3) When the operation of the Service becomes difficult due to fire, power failure, natural disaster, or any other cause of force majeure;

(4) When troubles, discontinuation or suspension of service, discontinuation of association with the Service, changes of specifications, etc. occur with respect to the Third Party SNS Services; or

(5) When for any other reason the Association determines that the discontinuation or suspension will be necessary.

12.2 The Association may, in its discretion, terminate the provision of the Service. In this case, the Association gives prior notice to the User.

12.3 The Association shall not be responsible or liable for any damage incurred by the User as a result of any action taken by the Association in accordance with this Article 12.

Article 13
Retention of Information

The Association shall have no obligation to retain the messages or other information transmitted by or to the User through the Service even in cases where such information has been retained by the Association for a certain period for operational reasons, and the Association may delete such information at any time in its discretion. The Association shall not be responsible or liable for any damage incurred by the User as a result of any action taken by the Association pursuant to this Article 13.

Article 14
Warning for Downloading, etc.

In cases where at the commencement of or during the use of the Service the User installs software or programs from the Website into his/her computers by way of downloading or other means, the User shall exercise due care in order to prevent the loss or alteration of the information held by it, or any fault or damage to his/her equipment. The Association shall in no event be responsible or liable for such loss or damage incurred by the User.

Article 15
Ownership and Intellectual Property Rights

15.1 All ownership rights and Intellectual Property Rights in and to the Service and the Website shall vest in the Association or its licensors, and the use of the Service permitted through the registration under the Terms shall not be construed as granting any license with respect to the Website or the Service under any Intellectual Property Rights held by the Association or its licensors. The User shall not, for any reason whatsoever, perform any act which would infringe any Intellectual Property Rights of the Association or its licensors, including, without limitation, disassembling, decompiling, or reverse engineering. 

15.2 The Users shall grant to the Association the non-exclusive, sublicense, and royalty-free license to copy, reproduce, modify or otherwise use in all forms the texts, graphics, videos and other data uploaded or transmitted in the Website or the Service by the User.

Article 16
Cancellation of Registration

16.1 The Association may suspend temporarily the use by the User of the Service or cancel the registration of the User without any prior notice if:

(1) the User violates any provision of the Terms;

(2) the Registration Information or information provided pursuant to the Article 6.2 and 6.3 is found to contain false information;

(3) the User uses or attempts to use the Service for such purposes or in such a manner as would cause damage to the Association, other Users, the Third Party SNS Providers or other third parties;

(4) Use of the Third Party SNS Services or association with the Third Party SNS Services becomes difficult in relation to the User due to its violation of the Terms of Use for Third Party SNS or other reasons;

(5) the User interferes with the operation of the Service by any means;

(6) payment by the User is suspended, or the User becomes insolvent, or an application for a proceeding for bankruptcy, civil rehabilitation, corporate reorganization, special liquidation, or other similar proceedings is instituted with respect to the User;

(7) the User dishonors any note or check issued or accepted by it;

(8) a petition is filed against the User for attachment, provisional attachment, provisional disposition, judicial enforcement or an auction sale;

(9) the User becomes subject to the procedures for tax delinquency;

(10) the User dies or is subject to an order for the commencement of guardianship, curatorship, or assistance;

(11) the Supplier has not executed the Product Agreement for a period of twelve (12) months or more or responded to any communication from the Association for a period of twelve (12) months or more;

(12) the Association determines that rating or reputation of the Supplier is significantly low.

(13) the User falls under any of items of Article 3.5; or

(14) the Association determines for any reason that the continuation of the registration of the User would be inappropriate.

16.2 In cases where the User falls under any of items of Article 16.1, any and all monetary debt of the User to the Association shall become forthwith due and payable, and the User shall immediately pay such monetary debt.

16.3 The Association shall in no event be responsible or liable for any damage incurred by the User as a result of any action taken by the Association in accordance with the provisions of this Article 16.

16.4 The User may cancel his/her registration as a User by sending a seven (7) days prior notice requesting the cancelation of the registration to the Association in accordance with the procedures specified by the Association.

16.5 Even if the registration of the User is canceled, the User shall remain bound by the Product Agreement which has been entered into by the User before the cancellation of registration, and provisions of the Terms shall continue to apply to such Product Agreement.

16.6 In the event of the cancellation of the registration pursuant to this Article 16, the User shall return, destroy or otherwise dispose of the software, manuals or any other materials supplied by the Association in connection with the Service, in accordance with the instructions provided by the Association.

Article 17
Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

17.1 The User hereby agrees that the Service is a platform service to provide the Users with opportunities of provision and use of Product Service, and that the Association is not a provider of or liable for any Product Services. The Association shall not be responsible or liable for troubles regarding the Product, including, without limitation, troubles in relation to the execution, cancelation and performance of the Product Agreement, accidents during the Product, or any other troubles between or among the Travelers, or the Travelers and the Suppliers. The Association shall not be responsible or liable for any damage incurred by the User in connection with the Product, including, without limitation, damage incurred in connection with the troubles above.

17.2 Although the Service may be associated with the Third Party SNS Services, the Association makes no warranty regarding such association. The Association shall not be responsible or liable even when such association is not available.

17.3 In cases where the Service is associated with the Third Party SNS Services, the User shall comply with the Terms of Use for Third Party SNS with its own costs and responsibilities. In no event shall the Association be responsible or liable for disputes, etc. which arise between the User and the Third Party SNS Providers.

17.4 The User shall investigate at his/her own expense and responsibility to determine whether or not his/her use of the Service will violate any law or regulation applicable to the User or the internal rules of the entity of which the User is a member, and the Association makes no warranty that the use of the Service by the User will comply with the laws and regulations applicable to the User and the internal rules of the entity of which the User is a member.

17.5 The User shall, with his/her full responsibility, treat and resolve all transactions, communications, disputes, etc. in connection with the Service or the Website which arise between the User and other Users, the Third Party SNS Providers or other third parties. In no event shall the Association be responsible or liable for them.

17.6 In no event shall the Association be responsible or liable for suspension, discontinuation, unavailability or modification of the Service caused by the Association, deletion or loss of any message or information from the User, cancellation of the registration of the User, loss of data or failure of or damage to equipment through the use of the Service, or any other damage incurred by the User in connection with the Service.

17.7 Even if the Website contains links to and from other websites on the Internet, the Association shall not, for any reason, be responsible for any websites other than the Website or any information obtained therefrom.

Article 18
Resolution of Disputes and Indemnity

18.1 The User shall indemnify and hold harmless the Association from and against any damage incurred by the Association as a result of any breach by the User of any provision of the Terms or resulting in connection with the use by the User of the Service.

18.2 The User shall immediately notify the Association of any claim against the User brought by other Users, the Third Party SNS Providers or other third parties in connection with the Service or of any dispute arising between the User and any of the other Users or other third parties, and shall settle such claim or dispute at his/her own expense and responsibility and report the processes and results of the settlement to the Association at the request thereof.

18.3 In cases where a claim is brought against the Association by other Users, the Third Party SNS Providers or other third parties by reason of infringement of rights or for any other reason with respect to the use of the Service by the User, the User shall compensate the Association for any amount of money which the Association has been forced to pay to such other Users, the Third Party SNS Providers or other third parties based on such claim.

18.4 In no event shall the Association be responsible or liable for the damage incurred by the User in connection with the Service. Even if the Association is responsible or liable for the damage by the application of Consumer Contract Law of Japan other laws, or by other reasons, the responsibility and liability of the Association for the damage are limited to the amount of the Service Fee received by the Association for the Product with respect to which the cause of such damage occurs.

Article 19
Confidentiality

19.1 For the purposes of the Terms, the “Confidential Information” means any and all information related to technology, business, operation, finance, organization, etc. of the Association which may be provided or disclosed by the Association to, or come to the knowledge of, the User in connection with the Terms or the Service in writing, orally or in storage media, etc., but excluding information (1) which is generally available to the public or known to the User at the time when the information is provided or disclosed by the Association to or comes to the knowledge of the User; (2) which becomes publicly known through publication or otherwise without fault of the User after the information is provided or disclosed by the Association to or comes to the knowledge of the User; (3) which the User has lawfully acquired without any obligation of confidentiality from a third party authorized to provide or disclose the information; (4) which the User has developed independently of the Confidential Information, or (5) which is confirmed by the Association in writing to be excluded from the obligation of confidentiality.

19.2 The User shall use the Confidential Information of the Association solely for the purpose of using the Service hereunder, and shall not provide, disclose or divulge the Confidential Information of the Association to any third party without the Association’s prior written consent.

19.3 Notwithstanding the provision of Article 19.2, the User may disclose the Confidential Information of the Association when such disclosure is required by law or by an order, requirement or request of a court or governmental authority; provided, however, that such order, requirement or request shall be promptly notified to the Association by the User.

19.4 The User shall first obtain the prior written consent of the Association if it intends to reproduce any document or magnetic storage media containing the Confidential Information of the Association, and shall keep the reproductions under strict control in the same manner as provided for in Article 19.2.

19.5 At any time upon request of the Association, the User shall promptly return to the Association or destroy the Confidential Information of the Association and the documents or other storage media containing or including the Confidential Information along with all reproductions thereof in accordance with the instructions of the Association.

Article 20
Effective Term

The Service Agreement shall become effective on the date of the completion of the registration pursuant to Article 3 in respect of the User, and remain in force and effect between the Association and the User until the earlier of the termination of the registration or the cessation of the provision of the Service.

Article 21
Amendment and Changes to Terms, etc.

21.1 The Association reserves the right to make amendment or change to the contents of the Service without restriction.

21.2 The Association reserves the right to make amendment or change to the Terms (including, without limitation, the rules and regulations concerning the Service which may be posted on the Website; the same shall apply hereinafter in this Article). In the event of any amendment or change to the Terms, the Association shall notify the User to that effect. If the User uses the Service, or fails to take steps to cancel the registration within the time specified by the Association after the notice set forth above, the User shall be deemed to have agreed to such amendment and change made to the Terms.

Article 22

Notice

Any inquiries with respect to the Service or other communications or notices from the Users to the Association, or the notices concerning any amendment to the Terms or other communications or notices from the Association to the User shall be made in accordance with the procedures specified by the Association.

Article 23
Assignment of Terms

23.1 The User shall not assign, transfer, grant security interests on or otherwise dispose of his/her status under the Service Agreement or rights or obligations under the Terms without the prior written consent of the Association.

23.2 In cases where the Association has assigned the business regarding the Service to a third party, the Association may, as part of such assignment of business, assign to the third party assignee its status under the Service Agreement, its rights and obligations under the Terms, and the Registration Information and other information relating to the User, and the User hereby agrees to such assignment in advance. For the purposes of this Article 23.2, the assignment of business referred to above shall include, in addition to the usual form of assignment of business, split of the Association or any other form of restructuring of the Association which would result in a transfer of the business.

Article 24
Entire Agreement

The Terms constitute the entire agreement between the Association and the User with respect to the matters contained herein, and supersede all prior agreements, representations and understandings, whether oral or in writing, between the Association and the User with respect to the matters contained herein.

Article 25
Severability

If any provision of the Terms or part thereof is held to be invalid or unenforceable under the Consumer Contract Law of Japan or other laws or regulations, the remaining provisions hereof shall remain in full force and effect, and the Association and the User shall endeavor to agree to an amendment thereof to the extent necessary to make such invalid or unenforceable provision or part thereof legally operative in order to achieve the same purpose and same legal and economic effect as originally contemplated by such invalid or unenforceable provision or part thereof.

Article 26
Survival of Provisions

The provisions of Articles 5.2, 8.2, 8.3, 9, 11.2, 12.3, 13through 15, 16.2 through 16.6, 17 through 19, and 23 through 27 shall survive the expiration or termination of the Service Agreement and remain in full force and effect; provide, however, that Article 19 shall survive only for five (5) years from the expiration or termination of the Service Agreement.

Article 27
Governing Law and Jurisdiction

The Terms shall be governed by the laws of Japan. Any and all disputes arising out of or in connection with the Terms shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Nara District Court in the first instance.

Article 28
Resolution Through Discussion

Any matters not provided for in the Terms or those giving rise to any doubts with respect to the interpretation of the Terms shall be promptly resolved through good faith discussions between the Association and the User.

Article 29
Language

The English language version of this Terms is the original copy and other language versions shall be made for the purpose of convenience only.

[Enacted on 31^st Mar. 2021]