Terms of Service

Welcome to Nihom (hereinafter referred to as "we," "us," or "the platform"). Please read the following Terms of Service carefully before using our services. By registering for an account or using our services, you agree to be bound by these terms.

0 Scope of Service

Nihom provides information, templates and self-completion assistance for residence status and other administrative procedures. Once Nihom obtains the necessary authorisations from the Immigration Services Agency and other relevant administrative authorities, it intends to offer self-service submission features for residence status and other administrative procedures, within the scope of those authorisations. We do not perform the exclusive activities reserved for administrative scriveners under Article 72 of the Japanese Administrative Scrivener Act (i.e., preparation or submission of documents to public offices, or individualised legal consultation, on another person's behalf for remuneration). For document preparation/submission or individual legal advice, please engage an administrative scrivener (or attorney) directly via our platform. The engagement contract is formed between you and the relevant professional; we act solely as an introduction and communication intermediary.

1 Service Overview

Nihom is a comprehensive service platform for foreign residents in Japan, providing various information services and tools related to living and working in Japan through technological means. The specific services available are as described on the platform.

We reserve the right to modify, add, or discontinue any or all service features at any time, and will notify users through platform announcements, email, or other reasonable means.

2 Usage Environment

The devices, communication environment, and other conditions necessary to use this service shall be prepared by the user at their own expense.

We are not liable for any inability to use the service properly or display anomalies caused by the user's device, operating system, or network conditions.

3 Account

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account information and for all activities that occur under your account. If you discover unauthorized use of your account or any security risks, please contact us promptly.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account if abnormal activity is detected.

4 Acceptable Use

You agree to use this platform only for lawful purposes and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations of Japan and your country or region of residence. When using this platform, you must not engage in the following activities:

Forging, altering, or submitting fraudulent application documents
Abusing AI features to generate false or misleading content
Unauthorized access or attempting to breach platform systems
Uploading files containing malicious code or harmful content
Harassing, defaming, or abusing other users or service providers
Using platform services for any illegal or fraudulent purposes
Reselling, transferring, or commercially exploiting platform services without authorization
Any other activities that violate laws or harm the interests of the platform or others

If you violate the above provisions, we may immediately suspend or terminate your account and remove the relevant content, without bearing any liability for compensation.

5 Intellectual Property

Platform Content

All content on the platform (including but not limited to software, design, text, images, trademarks, and logos), excluding user-uploaded content, is owned by or licensed to the platform operator. Reproduction, modification, or distribution without written permission is prohibited.

User Content

You retain ownership of the content you upload to the platform. However, by uploading content, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, store, process, analyze your content and create derivative works therefrom, as necessary to provide, improve, and develop our services and related products.

We may anonymize and aggregate user content for data analysis, statistical research, and service optimization. Data that has been processed in such a manner that it can no longer identify a specific user is not subject to the user content restrictions in these terms.

6 Data Analytics and Service Optimization

To continuously improve service quality and develop new features, we may:

Analyze user usage patterns and behavioral data
Process and analyze data using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies
Develop new products and service features based on data analysis results
Generate anonymized and aggregated statistical data and analytical reports

Anonymized, aggregated data and derivative works generated through the above methods (including but not limited to statistical models, analytical reports, and credit assessment models) are the intellectual property of the platform operator.

Should we plan to use your data for new purposes not covered by these terms, we will notify you in advance and obtain your additional consent where necessary.

7 Paid Services

Some services on this platform may require payment. Fees and payment methods will be indicated on the relevant service pages.

Except as required by law, fees that have been paid are generally non-refundable.

We reserve the right to adjust service pricing and fee structures, and will notify users in advance of any changes.

8 Notices and Communications

We may send you service-related notices, announcements, and marketing communications via in-app notifications, push notifications, or email.

You may manage some notification preferences in your account settings, but important notices regarding terms changes and security alerts cannot be unsubscribed.

9 External Links and Third-Party Services

This platform may contain links to third-party websites or services. We assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or service quality of third-party websites.

Any risks arising from your access to and use of third-party websites or services are borne solely by you.

10 Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

Disclaimers

Not Legal Advice: Information and AI-generated content provided on this platform are for reference only and do not constitute legal advice. For professional legal matters related to visa applications, please consult a licensed administrative scrivener or attorney
AI Content Accuracy: Output from our AI-assisted features (document drafts, translation, checklists, summaries, etc.) is provided as reference information only and does not constitute legal, medical or tax advice. Always verify final decisions against the latest official sources and a qualified professional. We do not use your input data to train AI models. Transmission to AI service providers (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, located in the United States) is governed by the cross-border data transfer provisions of our Privacy Policy
Visa Outcomes: We do not guarantee that using our platform services will result in visa application approval. Visa decisions are made by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan and are beyond our control
Service Interruptions: We will endeavor to minimize the impact of service interruptions caused by system maintenance, technical failures, natural disasters, or other force majeure events, but we are not liable for any resulting losses
Data Analysis Results: Any assessments, scores, or recommendations generated through data analysis and AI models are for reference purposes only and do not constitute guarantees regarding user qualifications, creditworthiness, or capabilities

Limitation of Liability

The service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness, and non-infringement.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages arising from or related to your use of or inability to use the service, including but not limited to loss of profits, loss of data, or business interruption.

In no event shall our total aggregate liability to you in connection with the service exceed the total service fees actually paid by you to us in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

The limitation and disclaimer provisions in these Terms shall not apply to damages arising from our wilful misconduct or gross negligence. To the extent that any provision is rendered void under the Japanese Consumer Contract Act or other mandatory law, that provision shall not apply within that scope.

11 Changes to Terms and Service Termination

Changes to Terms

In accordance with Article 548-4 of the Japanese Civil Code, when these Terms are amended we will announce the amended terms and the effective date on our website or within the app. Continued use of the service constitutes acceptance of the modified terms. For material changes, we will endeavour to provide notice at least 30 days before the effective date.

Service Termination

You may cancel your account and terminate use of our services at any time
If you violate these terms, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account
After account termination, your data will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy

12 Exclusion of Anti-Social Forces

Users represent and warrant that they are not members of organized crime groups (boryokudan), associate members, related enterprises, corporate extortionists (sokaiya), or any other anti-social forces, and that they have no association with such entities.

If a user is found to be associated with anti-social forces, we may immediately terminate the service and delete the account without bearing any liability for compensation.

13 Assignment of Rights

You may not assign or transfer any rights or obligations under these terms to any third party without our prior written consent.

We may assign all or part of our rights and obligations under these terms to an affiliated company or a third party that succeeds our business through merger, acquisition, or business transfer, without your prior consent.

14 Severability

If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable while preserving its original intent.

15 Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Japan
Any disputes arising from or relating to these terms shall first be resolved through good-faith negotiation between both parties
If a dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation, both parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court as the court of first instance

16 Governing Language

The Japanese version of these Terms of Service shall be the authoritative text. In the event of any inconsistency or ambiguity between language versions, the Japanese version shall prevail.

17 Consent to Use of Activity Data for Personalisation

You agree that your activity within the Service (viewing, favouriting, creating todos, community interactions, etc.) may be analysed to personalise and improve the Service. The specific scope of personalisation, the attributes that may be inferred, retention periods and deletion procedures are governed by our Privacy Policy.

18 Disclaimer Regarding the Recommendation Feature

Recommendations presented to you based on profile information (procedures, businesses, community posts, etc.) are provided as reference for your own decision-making and do not constitute a determination of the necessity, eligibility or legality of any procedure for your specific circumstances. Final decisions regarding residence status and other material procedures must always be confirmed against the latest official sources and a qualified professional.