Notice on Copyright and Other Related Matters Regarding this Website

1. Using the content on this website

Information made available on this website (hereinafter referred to as “Content”) may be freely used, copied, publicly transmitted, translated or otherwise modified on condition that the user complies with provisions 1) to 6) below.

Note, however, that numerical data and data in Simple tables, graphs, and so forth are not subject to copyright. Accordingly the terms of use does not apply to such data, and said data may be used freely.

Use of the Content constitutes agreement by the user with these terms of use for using the Content described herein (hereinafter referred to as “Terms of Use”).

1) Source citation

a. The user must cite the source when using the Content. Sources should be cited in the following manner:
(Examples of source citation)

Source: The Imperial Household Agency website (URL of the relevant page)


b. If you have edited the Content for use, you must include a statement expressing that the content has been edited, in addition to the abovementioned source citation, but not in any way that making public or using edited information in a format that may be misconstrued as having been created by the Government of Japan (or its ministries and/or agencies).
(Example of citation when using edited content)

Created by editing the "XX Survey" (The Imperial Household Agency)(URL of the relevant page)


2) No infringement of third party rights

a. In some cases, a third party (refers to a party other than the state. Hereinafter referred to as “Third Party”) may hold copyrights or other rights to a part of the Content. For Content where a Third Party holds copyrights or other rights (e.g. portrait rights in a photograph, publicity rights etc.), it is the responsibility of the user to obtain consent for use from the Third Party unless there is explicit indication that the rights have already been cleared.


b. If a Third Party holds rights to a part of the Content, said fact may be directly or indirectly stated or indicated through source citations, but in some cases the part of the Content to which the Third Party holds the rights may not be clear or may not be explicitly stated. It is the responsibility of the user to confirm the rights pertaining to use of the Content.


(Example of an indication of Third Party rights)

  • Written or Spoken by The Imperial Family (Addresses by the Imperial Family, Press Conferences, Lectures and Papers)
  • Pictures and Images of the Imperial Family


  • c. Even if a Third Party holds copyrights to the Content, some use of the Content, such as quoting, may be allowed without the consent of the copyright holder, under the Copyright Act of Japan.


    3) Content where the Terms of Use does not apply

    The Terms of Use herein does not apply to the following Content.

    a. Symbol mark, Logo, and Character Design which represent the organization or specific business.


    b. Content where other terms of use apply with rational and concrete reason.

    (Please refer to Notes. Content where other terms of use apply.)


    4) Governing law and jurisdiction

    a. The Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Japan.


    b. In case of disputes relating to the use of the Content based on the Terms of Use, or the Terms of Use, the user agrees that the exclusive court of first instance shall be the district court with jurisdiction in the place where the organization that has published the disputed Content or Terms of Use is located.


    5) Disclaimer

    a. The state bears absolutely no responsibility for any action taken by the user involving the use of the Content (including use of information based on edited Content).


    b. The Content may be modified, moved or deleted without prior notice.


    6) Other

    a. The Terms of Use does not limit those types of uses for which, under Copyright Act of Japan, license from the right holders are not required.


    b. The Terms of Use was established on January 25, 2016. The Terms of Use is based on the Government of Japan Standard Terms and Use (Version 2.0). The Terms of Use may be modified in the future. If you are already using Content under previous version of the Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use, these terms and conditions will continue to apply.


    c. The Terms of Use are compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (hereinafter referred to as the CC License). This means that Content based on the Terms of Use may be used under the CC License in lieu of the Terms of Use.

    Notes. Content where other terms of use apply

    Please refer to the relevant link(s) below for details.

    Production by The Imperial Family, and Portrait of The Imperial Family

    Press and Public Relations Office, General Affairs Division, Grand Steward's Secretariat,
    Imperial Household Agency
    1-1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8111, Japan