Welcome to 4S
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the services provided by 4S Inc. ("we," "us," or "our"), including event management, ticketing, networking, and related features (collectively, the "Service"). By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.
The Service includes:
- Event registration, reception management, and ticket sales
- Networking tools: advance appointment scheduling, in-app chat, check-in, and participant interaction features
- Extended Features (rolled out progressively): profile enhancement and Trust Score — a numerical score calculated from event participation, networking logs, page views, referral links, and project contribution badges awarded by project leaders
1. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you at least 30 days in advance by email and by posting a notice on our website at 4s.link. For non-material changes (for example, corrections or clarifications), updates take effect 5 days after posting.
Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service before they take effect.
Supplementary guidelines, policies, or rules posted on our website form part of these Terms. Where there is a conflict, the supplementary rules prevail.
2. Definitions
Key terms used throughout these Terms:
- "You" / "User": Any individual or legal entity accessing or using the Service.
- "Member": A user who has completed account registration and may access member-only features such as event applications and profile tools.
- "Account ID": The identifier (typically your email address) used to log into the Service.
- "Account Information": All information you provide or generate through your use of the Service, including profile data, activity logs, and evaluation data.
- "Event Organizer": A member who lists events and manages ticket sales through the Service.
- "Event Participant": A member who registers to attend an event listed on the Service.
- "Extended Features": Future features including Trust Score and profile enhancement tools described in the introduction above.
- "Our Website": 4s.link, including any successor URLs.
3. Account Registration
To access member features, you must create an account. When registering, you agree to:
- Provide accurate, current, and complete information
- Register a valid email address that you control
- Keep your account information up to date
We reserve the right to decline registration or suspend accounts that contain false information or that we reasonably believe violate these Terms.
4. Use of the Service
You may use the Service and its Extended Features in accordance with these Terms and any applicable supplementary rules.
We are a technology platform. Events listed on the Service are independently organized and operated by Event Organizers. We are not the organizer, producer, or sponsor of any event. We are not responsible for the content, quality, accuracy, or outcome of any event unless we have acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct.
For questions or disputes about a specific event — including cancellations, postponements, or content changes — please contact the relevant Event Organizer directly.
5. Tickets and Refunds
Tickets for events listed on the Service may be purchased through our platform. A purchase contract is formed between you and the Event Organizer when we send you a purchase confirmation.
Ticket prices, availability, and event content are set by the Event Organizer, not by us.
If an event is cancelled by the Event Organizer, refund procedures are governed by the Event Organizer's own refund policy. We will facilitate communication of the cancellation but bear no independent liability for refunds, except where we have acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Payment processing fees incurred in connection with refunds are borne by the Event Organizer.
All ticket sales are final unless: (a) the Event Organizer cancels the event, or (b) you contact the Event Organizer before the event date and the Event Organizer agrees to a cancellation in writing. We do not process refunds unilaterally.
6. Pricing, Payment, and Late Fees
Core features of the Service are available free of charge. Fees for paid features are listed on our website and may be updated with 30 days' notice.
Payments are processed through Stripe, a third-party payment service provider. We do not store your full payment card details. Stripe's own terms and privacy policy apply to payment processing.
How ticket payments work: When you purchase a ticket, your payment is received into our Stripe account on behalf of the Event Organizer (who has authorized us to collect on their behalf). We deduct our service fee and remit the remainder to the Event Organizer promptly. This arrangement means your payment obligation runs through us as collection agent rather than directly to the Event Organizer.
Late payments: If any amount you owe is overdue, a late fee of 14.6% per annum (as permitted under applicable Japanese law) will apply from the due date until payment is received.
7. Account Security
You are responsible for keeping your Account ID and password confidential. You must not share, transfer, or allow others to use your credentials.
You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. If you believe your account has been compromised, notify us immediately at [support email] and follow our instructions.
8. Prohibited Conduct
You agree not to use the Service to:
- Submit false, misleading, or inaccurate information in registrations, event listings, or comments
- Collect, misuse, or impersonate another person's identity or personal data
- Interfere with or disrupt the Service or any Event Organizer's operations
- Transmit viruses, malware, spam, or other harmful code
- Post or transmit content that is excessively violent, obscene, discriminatory, or that promotes self-harm, drug misuse, or harassment
- Defraud or threaten us, other users, or third parties
- Infringe our or any third party's intellectual property, privacy, or other rights
- Reverse-engineer, decompile, or conduct unauthorized security testing on our systems
- Harvest other users' data without their consent
- Advertise or solicit on the Service without our prior written consent
- Provide material support or benefit to any sanctioned entity or person, or any organization involved in organized crime
- Violate any applicable law or regulation
These prohibitions apply to all content posted through any feature of the Service, including messages, chat, and comments.
9. Service Availability
We aim to provide a reliable service, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted availability. We may suspend or limit access to the Service — without advance notice where urgency requires — for maintenance, upgrades, security responses, or events beyond our reasonable control (including natural disasters, power failures, or third-party outages).
We are not liable for losses arising from service interruptions, except where caused by our gross negligence or willful misconduct.
10. Your Equipment and Security
You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining the hardware, software, and internet connection needed to access the Service.
You are also responsible for implementing appropriate security measures on your own devices, including antivirus protection and safeguards against unauthorized access.
11. Intellectual Property and Data Use
All intellectual property in the Service — including software, design, trademarks, and content created by us — belongs to us or our licensors. Nothing in these Terms grants you any rights to use our trademarks or branding without our prior written consent.
Data we collect through your use of the Service (for example, meeting histories, chat logs, profile views, Trust Scores) is governed by our Privacy Policy. We may use anonymized and aggregated data for analytics, service improvement, and marketing purposes. We will not sell your personal data to third parties.
For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), our processing of personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy and, where applicable, a Data Processing Addendum (DPA). Please contact us at [privacy email] if you require a DPA.
We are not obligated to retain any specific data indefinitely and may delete data in accordance with our data retention policies.
12. Account Suspension and Termination
We may suspend or terminate your account without prior notice if:
- You breach these Terms
- Your Account Information is found to contain material falsehoods
- You become subject to insolvency proceedings or equivalent
- You do not respond to our inquiries for 30 or more consecutive days
- We reasonably determine that continued access is inappropriate or harmful
You may close your account at any time by contacting us at [support email]. Termination does not entitle you to a refund of any amounts already paid.
13. Our Role and Limitation of Liability
We are a technology platform, not an event organizer or ticket issuer. Event Organizers are solely responsible for their events' content, safety, and execution.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable for:
- Any cancellation, postponement, or changes to events made by Event Organizers
- The accuracy or quality of event content or activities
- Disputes between you and an Event Organizer
- Any indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages
Stripe processes payments on our behalf under its own terms. We are not a licensed payment institution and do not take on the role of a bank or financial services provider.
Where our liability cannot be excluded by law, it is limited to the amount you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim.
14. Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
Note for EEA/UK users: Nothing in this section limits rights you have under mandatory consumer protection laws in your jurisdiction.
15. Payment Processing Details
All payments are processed through Stripe. You authorize us to collect payments on behalf of Event Organizers as their collection agent. Funds are deposited into our Stripe account, and we remit the applicable amount to the Event Organizer after deducting our service fee.
This arrangement is designed for administrative efficiency and does not create a direct creditor-debtor relationship between you and the Event Organizer for purposes of the funds we hold. For any payment disputes, please contact us at [support email].
16. Changes to the Service
We may change, add, or remove features of the Service at any time. Where we make changes that materially affect your use of the Service, we will give you at least 30 days' notice.
If we discontinue the Service entirely, we will notify you at least 30 days in advance and facilitate any outstanding refunds or data export requests where feasible.
17. Prohibited Associations
You represent and warrant that you are not, and will not become, affiliated with any of the following:
- Any entity or individual subject to sanctions under applicable Japanese law, UN Security Council resolutions, or equivalent international sanctions regimes
- Any organized crime group or criminal organization (including, under Japanese law, designated "boryokudan" and related entities)
- Any entity whose primary purpose is to facilitate illegal activity
If you breach this section, we may immediately terminate your account. You will be liable for any damages resulting from your breach.
18. Confidentiality
If we share non-public information with you and designate it as confidential, you must keep it confidential and not disclose it to any third party without our prior written consent.
19. Assignment
You may not assign or transfer your account or any rights under these Terms to a third party without our prior written consent. Event participation rights may be transferred to a third party only if the relevant Event Organizer consents.
We may assign our rights and obligations under these Terms — including your Account Information — in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. We will notify you of any such assignment. If you object, you may close your account before the transfer takes effect.
20. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of Japan, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
We encourage you to contact us first at [support email] to resolve any dispute informally. If we cannot reach a resolution within 30 days, disputes will be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court as the court of first instance.
Note for EEA/UK consumers: You may also have the right to use an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme or access the EU Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The choice of Japanese law and Tokyo courts does not deprive you of protections afforded by the mandatory laws of your country of residence.
21. General Provisions
Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any supplementary guidelines, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.
Severability
If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force. We will amend the invalid provision to reflect the parties' original intent as closely as possible.
No Waiver
Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce it in the future.
Notices
We will communicate with you via email to your registered address, push notifications, or by posting notices on our website. You are responsible for keeping your contact information current. Important notices (including material changes to these Terms) will be sent by email and posted on our website.
Survival
Sections 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 survive termination of your account or these Terms.