These Terms of Use establish the rules for using of the platform website specialized in public interest litigation “CALL4” (https://www.call4.jp/, hereinafter referred to as "the website") operated by Approved Specified Nonprofit Corporation CALL4 (hereinafter referred to as "the organization"). Users of the website (including visitors to the website, viewers of litigation materials uploaded to the website, donors, case page administrators (as defined in the "Purpose" section below), and all others who use the website regardless of whether they have registered an account; hereinafter referred to as "the users") are required to thoroughly understand and comply with these Terms of Use when using the website. By using the website, it is considered that you have agreed to comply with these Terms of Use.

The website aims to connect those involved in litigation seeking to address social issues (hereinafter referred to as "public interest litigation”), including plaintiffs, petitioners, defendants, support organizations, legal teams, and other stakeholders, with the users who wish to support public interest litigation and promote social change. On the website, these stakeholders (hereinafter referred to as "case page administrators") can create and manage web pages (hereinafter referred to as "case pages") to solicit necessary donations, support, and volunteers for the execution of public interest litigation (hereinafter referred to as "cases"). Please note that the organization itself does not directly engage in public interest litigation or lobbying activities.

The website offers services and functions of crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, bulletin board, litigation materials database, media, and other features to provide citizens with comprehensive information on public interest litigations while enabling stakeholders to easily receive support from citizens.

Crowdfunding Function: The crowdfunding function allows case page administrators, who are stakeholders in public interest litigation, to receive necessary donation support. For details on donations via the crowdfunding function, please refer to the "Donations" section below.

Crowdsourcing Function: The crowdsourcing function allows case page administrators, via the bulletin board function described below, to recruit volunteers for tasks necessary for the execution of public interest litigation. Registered users (users who have registered a general account on the website as described in the "Account Registration and Management" section below) who have offered their cooperation can assist with the tasks required by the case page administrators. The purpose of the crowdsourcing function is solely to match case page administrators seeking assistance with registered users willing to provide it. Therefore, the organization does not engage in interactions between these parties and assumes no responsibility for the qualifications of case page administrators or the conduct, quality of work, reliability, or adherence to deadlines by the registered users offering assistance.

Bulletin Board Function: The bulletin board function allows registered users, including case page administrators, to engage in active communication through free exchange of opinions, information provision, and information dissemination by posting on the bulletin board and providing digital content. The organization is not responsible for any postings made by registered users. However, if a posting is found to violate or potentially violate the prohibited reasons listed in the "Case Page" section below, or is deemed inappropriate by the organization, the organization may, at its complete discretion and without notifying the registered user who made the posting, make the posting unpublished or delete it. In such cases, the organization is not obligated to disclose the reason for making the posting unpublished or deleting it to anyone, including the registered user who made the posting, and no one may object, claim, or demand anything from the organization regarding unpublishing or deleting the posting.

Litigation Materials Database Function: The litigation materials database function allows all users of the website, not limited to registered users, to freely view and download masked versions of individual case materials for which the organization has processed privacy information under the responsibility of the respective case page administrators.

Media Function: The media function involves publishing stories related to individual cases under the name and responsibility of the organization. Users of the website, regardless of account registration status, can obtain information about individual cases through this media function.

Please note that the organization may add or change services and functions on the website at any time, regardless of the functions mentioned above.

By registering an account on the website (hereinafter referred to as "general account registration"), users of the website can become registered users and utilize the crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, and bulletin board functions. The litigation materials database function and media function can be used regardless of whether a general account is registered.

The qualifications and conditions for users of the website to register a general account are as follows:

• Possession of a valid email address capable of sending and receiving messages
• Not currently, in the past, or in the future, belonging to or having any relation with organized crime groups or other anti-social forces (including but not limited to organized crime groups, members of organized crime groups, right-wing groups, anti-social forces, and others equivalent thereto), and not cooperating with or being involved in the maintenance, operation, or management of such forces through funding or other means
• No other reasons deemed inappropriate for registration by the organization

Registered users must promptly update any changes to their registered information on the website. The organization assumes no responsibility for any issues arising from the accuracy, truthfulness, or timeliness of information updated by registered users.

Registered users are responsible for managing their account ID and password strictly and appropriately (including periodically changing the password), and must not lend or transfer them to any third party. Any login using the registered ID and password on the website will be considered as use by the registered user of that ID and password, regardless of the circumstances.

Registered users are solely responsible for any damages or disadvantages resulting from insufficient management of IDs and passwords, registration or usage errors, or use by third parties, and the organization assumes no responsibility.

If a registered user determines that their ID or password has been leaked or is at risk of leakage, they must notify the organization of the suspension of website use, regardless of the reason, and promptly change the ID or password. In such cases, the organization will consider the email address and password corresponding to the ID as a misused account and suspend the use of the website.

Registered users can make direct donations to case page administrators via the crowdfunding function on the website (hereafter, registered users who make donations will be referred to as "donors"). The crowdfunding projects on the website are focused on litigations aimed at resolving social issues, and there are no services, goods, or other rewards provided in exchange for donations. Donations are solely intended to support public interest litigation and help to resolve social issues.

Donations will be given in full to the designated case page administrator, after deducting the actual costs incurred by the organization for payment processing (including credit card fees, bank transfer fees, and other third-party payment service fees) at an appropriate time. Donations do not imply any payment of compensation or rewards to the case page administrator. There will be no contractual or rights and obligations relationship between the donor and the case page administrator.

Within 48 hours after completing the donation, the donation can be canceled by either entering and sending the necessary details through the inquiry form, or by emailing the organization’s representative email address. Canceled donations will be refunded within 7 days of the organization receiving the cancellation email. Refunds will not be allowed for donations after 48 hours from the completion of the donation, regardless of reasons such as the case losing, settlement, waiver of appeal rights, mistakes by the case page administrator’s attorney, making the case page unpublished or deleting it due to the case page administrator's duty violations, or any other reason. The same applies if the manner of pursuing the litigation or the outcome of the litigation differs from expectations.

Donations will be used at the case page administrator’s complete discretion for actual costs necessary for the case, such as stamps, postal fees, attorney fees, travel expenses, daily allowances, expert opinions, and translation costs, and are prohibited from being diverted to unrelated costs or personal expenses of the case page administrator. However, considering that the litigation may involve considerable effort for the case page administrator, any remaining donation funds (if any) at the conclusion of the litigation will not be subject to the organization’s intervention and can be retained by the case page administrator.

Notwithstanding the above, the organization does not impose any obligation on the case page administrator to report on the use of the donation funds, both during and after the litigation, nor does it have any duty to supervise or monitor the use of the donation funds for the benefit of the donor. This is because the organization places full trust in the high aspirations and integrity of the case page administrators working to resolve social issues. Should there be a revision of this operation, it will be announced on the website as a change in these Terms of Use; however, the organization will not be obliged to explain the reasons for such changes to donors or any other parties.

The organization, in accordance with these Terms of Use (refer to the section "Case Page Administrator" below) and within the scope of the purposes explicitly stated in the organization’s privacy policy, may provide the case page administrator with certain information about donors, such as their names, addresses, donation amounts, and other personal information managed by the organization (hereafter "donor information"). However, this does not apply to donors who have notified the organization in advance of their wish not to disclose such donor information.

A person seeking to become a case page administrator (hereinafter referred to as a "case page registration applicant") must first become a registered user and then submit a case page registration application by filling out the required information in the designated application form on the website and undergo review by the organization. When submitting the registration application, the litigation of the applicant must comply with the following requirements set by the organization; however, compliance with these requirements does not guarantee passing the review.

1. In principle, the litigant should create the case page (the crowdfunding page).
   
   The case page should be created by the litigant of the lawsuit. This is because the donations collected on our platform are primarily allocated to legal expenses, and in principle, the legal expenses are paid by the litigant who pursues the lawsuit in their own name and entrusts the legal actions to their representative.
   While it may be possible to publish the case page under the name of a legal representative or a support organization with the litigant's consent, please be aware that we reserve the right to decline publication in certain cases.
2. The opposing party must be a national or local government entity.
   
   We do not accept cases where the opposing party is an individual or private entity (including a large corporation). Additionally, criminal cases are only accepted if they involve disputes over the interpretation of law, excluding cases where the dispute centers on the determination of facts. We are considering expanding the scope of cases in the future, but for now, we limit it to the aforementioned types. Your understanding is appreciated.
3. The litigation must address social issue(s).
   
   Defining what constitutes a litigation that addresses a social issue is complex and can vary among legal professionals. We expect some trial and error in this process, and the decision to publish a case page on our platform will ultimately be at our discretion. However, we aim to interpret this criterion as broadly as possible. If you believe your litigation has public significance, please submit it for our consideration.
4. The litigation must appoint a legal representative who consents to the use of CALL4 and agrees to provide litigation materials.
   
   It is necessary for the litigation to have a legal representative. We uniformly decline cases that do not have a legal representative. Additionally, as the litigation materials prepared by the representative lawyer will be published on our platform, it is necessary to obtain their consent to the use of CALL4.
5. The litigation must have already been filed or will be filed soon.
   
   We cannot publish case pages for legal fees and other related expenses of a litigation that has not been filed or is in an unclear situation.

The organization has the sole discretion to decide whether to publish a case page for the litigation (i.e., whether to include the applied case on the organization's web platform). The applicant cannot raise any objections against the organization's decision not to publish.

If the organization approves the publication of a case page for the litigation, the case page administrator must promptly provide the organization with images, articles, other information, and content to be included on the case page for that litigation. Additionally, when soliciting donations on the case page, the case page administrator may freely set the total amount of donations and the fundraising period. However, if there are specific uses planned for the donations, this must be stated at the beginning of the case page.

Even after the publication of the case page for the litigation, if the organization determines that the content on the case page falls under or may fall under the following reasons (hereinafter referred to as "prohibited reasons"), the organization may request the case page administrator to make corrections, changes, or deletions to the content.

• When there is a risk of violating laws, public order, or good morals
• When there is an infringement of the organization’s or other third parties' copyrights, trademark rights, or other intellectual property rights
• When the content includes expressions that damage the reputation or credibility of the organization or other third parties
• When the content includes expressions that infringe the privacy or secrets of the organization or other third parties (including actions that illegally collect, publish, or provide personal information of third parties)
• When the content includes excessively violent expressions, defamatory statements, explicit sexual content, expressions equivalent to child pornography or child abuse, expressions that lead to discrimination based on race, nationality, beliefs, gender, social status, or lineage, expressions that incite or promote suicide, self-harm, or drug abuse, or other anti-social content that may cause discomfort to others
• When intentionally false or significantly misleading information is disseminated
• When the content includes expressions aimed at sales, promotion, advertising, solicitation, or other profit-driven purposes, or expressions aimed at soliciting for religious activities, religious organizations, political activities, or political organizations
• When the content includes expressions that illegally collect, disclose, or provide personal information or other privacy information of third parties
• When the content includes expressions deemed inappropriate or unsuitable in light of the purpose of the website

In the cases outlined above, if the case page administrator does not respond to the organization’s request, the organization may, at its sole discretion, make the case page unpublished or take other measures (including suspension or deletion of general account registration).

Notwithstanding any provisions in these Terms of Use, the case page administrator assumes full responsibility for the content and expressions on each case page. Please be aware that the organization will not be held responsible for the accuracy, legality, or validity of the content published on each case page.

The case page administrator shall have the following duties (hereinafter referred to as "designated duties") to the organization. If the case page administrator is a support organization rather than a plaintiff or its representative, or a defendant or its lawyer (hereinafter referred to as "plaintiffs, etc."), such support organization shall be responsible for ensuring that the plaintiffs, etc., comply with the designated duties. These duties are the minimum requirements for soliciting donations through the website, and the organization will strictly take the measures described below in case of violation of these duties.

• Lawsuit Filing Duty: This duty requires the case page administrator to file a lawsuit related to the case targeted for donations within one month from the publication of the case page (however, if it is impossible to meet the deadline due to unavoidable reasons, the case page administrator should notify such circumstances on the case page and set a deadline in the notice by which the case page administrator will file the lawsuit).
• Good Faith Lawsuit Pursuit Duty: This duty requires the case page administrator to diligently pursue the lawsuit they initiated, or ensure that their representative lawyer does so, and maintain the lawsuit unless truly unavoidable circumstances arise.
• Lawsuit Progress Reporting Duty: This duty requires the case page administrator to publicly disclose the progress of the case (including but not limited to registration of the next court date, reporting of the court date, disclosure of statements and evidence submitted at that court date, and/or announcement of litigation-related events) on the case page within one or two days from the end of each court date and as necessary.
• Provision of Litigation Materials Duty: This duty requires the case page administrator to provide the organization with relevant litigation materials (including but not limited to statements and evidence submitted by both parties) after applying necessary masking processing, or upload them to the case page for viewing by users.

The case page administrator shall use donations for actual expenses required for the case, such as stamp duty, postal fees, lawyer fees, transportation expenses, daily allowances, expert opinions, and translation costs, and may not divert them for unrelated expenses or personal costs (refer to the "Donations" section above). Additionally, the organization is not obligated to provide donor information to the case page administrator, and the case page administrator shall not have any right to request donor information from the organization. If the case page administrator needs donor information, they may request it from the organization, but the decision to provide the donor information and the scope of information provided is at the organization's complete discretion. The case page administrator cannot object to the organization’s decision in any case, and the organization is not obligated to disclose the reasons for such decisions. Furthermore, if the case page administrator receives donor information from the organization, they must use it appropriately according to the purpose specified by the organization and be responsible for handling it. If any damage, loss, or inconvenience occurs to the organization or donors due to leakage or other incidents, the case page administrator must compensate or indemnify the organization or donors.

If the case page administrator violates their duties (including the designated duties) under these Terms of Use and does not improve even after being corrected by the organization, they will be obliged to return the donations and compensate for any damage incurred by the organization.

In addition to the duties specified above, the case page administrator shall not have any duties or responsibilities to the organization, users, or other third parties, including but not limited to the following:

• Explaining or reporting on the use of donations or remaining balance
• Guaranteeing a favorable outcome
• Providing any financial, social, or political benefits, compensation, or dividends upon winning litigation
• Following instructions or directives from third parties, including donors, regarding the manner of pursuing the lawsuit, the content of claims, the timing of evidence submissions, and all other litigation actions and related activities, whether explicit or implicit

The pursuit of litigation for each case is at the complete discretion of the case page administrator. Even if the case page administrator pursues the litigation in a manner different from what donors might expect, the donors cannot make any claims, objections, or complaints against the organization, the case page administrator, the case's legal representatives, or other parties involved. Note that there may be delegation, employment, familial, or other social relationships between plaintiffs, etc., and the legal representatives not related to the cases posted on the website. As long as the case page administrator adheres to the designated duties and other duties under these Terms of Use, the organization will not object to such social relationships. Therefore, users also confirm in advance that they cannot make any objections, claims, or requests based on the existence of these social relationships.

In addition to the matters specified in the preceding section, the organization does not guarantee any qualifications or standards regarding the case page administrator’s litigation pursuit or other activities, nor does it guarantee or undertake the results of the litigation initiated by the case page administrator. The organization also does not provide any legal opinions or special support for individual cases, nor does it exercise any control or influence over the cases.

The organization may, at its sole discretion, make a case page unpublished or delete it if it determines that the case page administrator has (i) violated their obligations under these Terms of Use (including but not limited to specified duties), (ii) managed the case in a manner that significantly opposes the organization’s principles, (iii) or if the organization deems it necessary and unavoidable. In such cases, the organization shall not be responsible for any damages, losses, or other disadvantages claimed to arise from making the case unpublished or deleting it, nor shall it be obligated to disclose the reasons for making the case unpublished or deleting it under any circumstances.

If the organization determines that there has been a violation of obligations under these Terms of Use by the case page administrator or if there are serious disciplinary reasons concerning the case’s attorney, the organization may take legal action such as demanding a refund of donations, claiming damages, or seeking disciplinary action against the case page administrator or attorney. However, the organization is not obligated to take such measures. Such actions are the organization’s exclusive right and are at its sole discretion. No third party, including users of the website, may take these measures on behalf of the organization or acquire the right to do so. Even if the organization takes these measures, the organization is not obligated to refund donations to donors. Once a donation is made, it will not be refunded except through the previously mentioned donation refund procedures.

The organization may suspend or interrupt all or part of the services or functions on the website without prior notice to the users in the following circumstances:

• In the event of urgent inspections or maintenance of the computer systems constituting the website.
• If the computer systems, communication lines, or other components of the website are stopped due to accidents, malfunctions, etc.
• If the website's operation becomes impossible due to reasons beyond the organization's control, such as earthquakes, lightning, fires, floods, power outages, natural disasters, strikes, labor disputes, industrial disturbances, unavoidable accidents, legal regulations, civil unrest, riots, epidemics, or other causes not attributable to the organization's intent or negligence (including hacking by third parties).
• If the organization deems it necessary to urgently stop or interrupt the services or functions on the website for other reasons.

The organization may terminate all or part of the services or functions on the website at its discretion. In such cases, the organization will notify users of the termination by posting a notice on the website at least 60 days before the planned end date of the service.

Considering that the organization is an approved specified nonprofit corporation and that the website's operations are aimed at providing free-of-charge services for substantially public-interested activities for social issue resolution, the organization will not be held responsible for any damages, losses, or disadvantages incurred by users due to the measures taken based on the above circumstances. Please be aware of this in advance.

If the organization reasonably determines that it is inappropriate to allow a registered user to continue using the website due to a violation of these Terms of Use or inappropriate postings on the bulletin board, the organization may temporarily suspend or delete the general account registration of that user at any time without prior notice or warning. In such cases, the organization shall not be held responsible for any damages, losses, or disadvantages incurred by the registered user.

Copyrights, trademark rights, and all other intellectual property rights related to the story information and other content published on the website belong to the organization.

Copyrights and other rights to information provided by users of the website in connection with their use of the website belong to the users. However, the organization may use this information as necessary, and users grant the organization a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use such information, unless it results in significant harm to the users.

The organization retains exclusive authority over the management of all user information (including personal information) obtained through the use of the website by users. Except as specifically provided in these Terms of Use, the organization will handle such information in accordance with the privacy policy established by the organization.

The organization, its officers, employees, and other related parties shall not be held liable for any damages incurred by users of the website. Furthermore, users of the website agree to exempt the organization, its officers, employees, and other related parties from any responsibility for damages related to the use of the website.

These Terms of Use may be amended by the organization as necessary.

Changes to these Terms of Use will take effect three days after the organization posts a notice on the website about the changes (however, for significant changes regarding the status and rights and obligations of case page administrators and registered users, the changes will take effect upon receipt of individual notifications issued by the organization). Users of the website who use the website after the effective date of the changes will be deemed to have agreed to the amended Terms of Use.

The language of all contracts applicable between the organization and the users of the website concerning the use of the website shall be Japanese, and any translations into other languages shall not affect the interpretation of the Japanese version.

The governing law for these Terms of Use shall be Japanese law. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms of Use and the use of the website shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court as the court of first instance.

For inquiries regarding these Terms of Use, please contact us at [info@call4.jp] or through the contact form on the website.

Created: February 14, 2019
Amended: March 28, 2023
Amended: September 13, 2024