Social Media Terms of Use

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.

Please read and accept the following terms of use for social media (hereafter "terms of use") before using any official social media accounts managed by Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (hereafter "MHFG") or any associated services (accounts and associated services referred to hereafter as "the service").

MHFG's official social media accounts are listed on the MHFG website.
 

Article 1: Application and Modification of the Terms of Use

1. The terms of use are applicable to any user of the service (hereafter "user").
2. Users will be deemed to have accepted the terms of use as soon as they start to use the service.
3. MHFG may modify the terms of use without obtaining the prior agreement of users or providing notification afterwards. Any changes to the terms of use will take effect from the moment the new terms of use are published on the MHFG website.
4. Where the individual terms of use for a specific MHFG official social media account differ from these general terms of use, or where an item appears in the individual terms of use but not in the general terms of use, the individual terms of use will take precedence.
    

Article 2: Hours of Usage

MHFG's official social media accounts will be actively monitored and managed from 9:00 to 17:00 (Japan Standard Time) on weekdays only (i.e. excluding Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, substitute public holidays, and the period from December 31 to January 3 the following year). However, MHFG may monitor and manage the official social media accounts at times other than those listed above.
 

Article 3: Accessing Basic Information

1. MHFG may access all of the publicly available basic information on a user's social media accounts, such as their name, profile, photographs, gender, friend list, etc., within the limitations set by the terms of use of the social media platform.
2. Any personal information on users obtained by MHFG will be handled according to MHFG's privacy policy.
    

Article 4: Prohibitions

1. When using the service, users are prohibited from the following:

   (1)   Behavior that damages or impairs the function of MHFG's official social media account, or behavior that could do this.

   (2)   Behavior that disadvantages, harms, or causes nuisance to MHFG, its employees or any third parties, or behavior that could do this.

   (3)   Libel of MHFG, its employees or any third parties, or the products or services of any of the above.

   (4)   Behavior that violates copyright, trademarks or any other intellectual property rights held by MHFG, its employees, or any third parties, or behavior that could do this.

   (5)   Behavior that violates the privacy of a third party, such as publishing personal information without that person's permission.

   (6)   Political activity, election campaigning, religious activity or any similar behavior.

   (7)   Violation of laws or public order and morals, or behavior that could do this.

   (8)   Publication of harmful, obscene or abusive content, or any other behavior that could cause discomfort to users.

   (9)   Behavior linked to crime or that could be linked to crime.

   (10)   Impersonation of a third party including MHFG or its employees.

   (11)   Behavior prohibited by the social media service provider.

   (12)   Any other behavior deemed inappropriate by MHFG.

2. Any content posted on the MHFG social media account that falls under the above prohibited acts (hereafter "prohibited behavior") may be deleted by MHFG without warning, or otherwise dealt with as appropriate. MHFG may also take appropriate action without warning against any user engaging in prohibited behavior, including blocking them from using the MHFG official social media account.
3. If MHFG incurs any damage due to user action, MHFG may seek compensation for losses from the user(s) responsible.
    

Article 5: Management of Intellectual Property Rights

1. The copyright, trademarks or any other intellectual property rights associated with information displayed on social media accounts managed by MHFG belong to either MHFG or the right holder.
2. Users must not use any information on the MHFG official social media account in any way that contravenes limits set out in intellectual property law, without the permission of the right holder.
3. When a user posts any information on an MHFG official social media account, the user is considered to have granted MHFG the right to use any intellectual property contained within that information anywhere in the world, on a non–exclusive basis, free of charge; the user will also not exercise their intellectual property rights against MHFG with regard to this information.
4. If a user violates the provisions above and thereby causes a dispute or other problem between themselves and a third party such as a right holder, they will be responsible for solving the problem by themselves, at their own expense.
    

Article 6: Disclaimers

1. Any information published by MHFG on its official social media accounts is not to be considered the official opinion or position of MHFG, and MHFG does not guarantee its accuracy, completeness or usefulness.
2. While MHFG will try to ensure that information published on its official social media accounts is valid at the time of publication, it is subject to variation at any time after that. The information published on the official social media account is only part of the full body of information distributed by MHFG. Some MHFG information will not be distributed via social media.
3. MHFG may without warning modify or delete information published on its official social media accounts. In unavoidable circumstances, MHFG may without warning temporarily suspend or permanently discontinue social media services.
4. MHFG is under no obligation to respond to any questions etc. sent to its official social media accounts.
5. MHFG accepts no responsibility for any losses or damages incurred by users as a result of using, or not being able to use, the MHFG official social media account.
6. MHFG accepts no responsibility for any dispute arising between users or between a user and a third party in connection with MHFG official social media accounts (this includes but is not limited to matters arising from information posted by a user or users). In such a case, the user(s) must take responsibility for resolving the dispute on their own.
7. Since MHFG's official social media accounts are run on their respective social media service provider's platform, MHFG in no way guarantees the functionality or safety of social media usage. Furthermore, MHFG is under no obligation to respond to any questions etc. regarding the social media platform's service status, usage methods or technical matters.
    

Article 7: Governing Laws & Jurisdiction

1. These terms of use are governed by Japanese law.
2. Any dispute arising in relation to the service shall be handled under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court in the first instance.
    

(As of May 22, 2015)