Public Relations Office, Minister's Secretariat of the Cabinet Office Official Social Media Operational Policy

1. General Provisions

This policy establishes matters related to the operation of the following Social Media accounts (hereinafter referred to as "Government PR Official SNS accounts") operated by the Public Relations Office, Minister's Secretariat of the Cabinet Office (hereinafter referred to as the "Government PR Office").

(1) X

Government Public Relations Online X (@gov_online)
https://x.com/gov_onlineThis is a link that opens in a new tab and goes to an external website

(2) Facebook

Cabinet Office Government Public Relations Online Facebook (@gov.online)
https://www.facebook.com/gov.onlineThis is a link that opens in a new tab and goes to an external website

Cabinet Office Government Public Relations Advertising Delivery Exclusive Facebook (@gov.online.ad)
https://www.facebook.com/gov.online.adThis is a link that opens in a new tab and goes to an external website

(3) Instagram

Cabinet Office Government Public Relations Instagram (@gov_online)
https://www.instagram.com/gov_online/This is a link that opens in a new tab and goes to an external website

Highlighting Japan (@highlightingjapan)
https://www.instagram.com/highlightingjapan/This is a link that opens in a new tab and goes to an external website

(4) YouTube

Government Public Relations YouTube (@govonline-jp)
https://www.youtube.com/@govonline-jp/This is a link that opens in a new tab and goes to an external website

2. Basic Policy

The Government PR Office conducts public relations activities through various media channels to promote information on important government policies and the initiatives of each ministry and agency. The Government PR Official SNS accounts will specifically highlight themes closely related to citizens' lives, delivering easy-to-understand content using illustrations, photos, and videos. The Government PR Official SNS account is focused on an informational purpose only, so in principle, we will not respond to any comments or messages. Comments and requests are accepted at https://www.gov-online.go.jp/en/form/mailform/.

3. Operational Methods

(1) Content Posting

  • Information related to articles on the Government Public Relations website (website managed and operated by the Government PR Office), including video and image content.
  • Information related to promotional content produced by the Government PR Office.
  • Other information deemed important in government public relations activities.

(2) Following Other Accounts

In principle, we will not "follow," "like," or "repost" accounts other than those of countries, government agencies, local governments, or highly public organizations. In addition, we will not respond to any posts of users as a general rule.

4. Disclaimer

  • The Government PR Office takes every possible care to ensure the accuracy of information posted on Government PR Official SNS accounts. The Government PR Office is not responsible for any actions taken by users based on the information from these SNS accounts.
  • The Government PR Office is not responsible for disputes or damages among users related to Government PR Official SNS accounts or disputes and damages between users and third parties related to Government PR Official SNS accounts.
  • Copyrights related to comments and posts belong to the users who made the posts but by making a post, users grant the Government PR Office the right to use the posted content globally, free of charge and non-exclusively, and agree not to exercise copyrights against the Government PR Office.
  • Additionally, the Government PR Office assumes no responsibility for any damages related to Government PR Official SNS accounts.
  • The Content may be modified, moved or deleted without prior notice.

5. Intellectual Property Rights

  • Intellectual property rights, including photos, illustrations, audio, video, articles, etc., posted on Government PR Official SNS accounts, belong to the Government PR Office or those with valid rights.
  • Functions such as "follow," "like," and "repost" provided by social media for Government PR Official SNS accounts content can be freely used.
  • When reusing content for purposes other than those provided by social media functions, reproduction with attribution(source) is possible on condition that the user complies with this operation policy and (1) to (5) below. However, this does not apply if there is a note such as "reproduction without permission is prohibited."

(1) Source Citation

① The user must cite the source when using the Content. Sources should be cited in the following manner:

(Examples of source citation)
  • Source: Cabinet Office Government Public Relations Online X (https://x.com/gov_online)
  • Source: Cabinet Office Government Public Relations Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/gov_online/)
  • Source: Cabinet Office Government Public Relations YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@govonline-jp/)

② 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 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 Cabinet Office Government Public Relations Online X "XXX(Title of the relevant page)" (URL of the relevant page)
  • Created by Company YY based on Cabinet Office Government Public Relations Instagram (URL of the relevant page)
Note: Be sure to include the URL.

(2) No infringement of third party rights

① 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.

② 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.

③ 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 use is restricted by specific laws and ordinances

Use of some Content may be restricted by specific laws and ordinances.

(4) Content where the Terms of Use does not reply

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

(5) Other

① 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.

② The Terms of Use was established on May 8, 2024. The Terms of Use is based on the Government of Japan Standard Terms and Conditions (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.

③ The Terms of Use are compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (hereinafter referred to as "CC BY") and the Content to which the Terms of Use apply may also be used in accordance with CC BY

6. Important Points

This operational policy may be changed without prior notice. Also, in the operation of Government PR Official SNS accounts, comments or similar items judged to be unrelated to the posted content or falling under the following categories may be partially or entirely hidden, deleted, or rejected without notice. Please note that individual responses will not be provided for comments, etc.

  • Comments that violate a law, ordinance, or regulations or with the potential to do so
  • Comments that violate public order and morals
  • Comments that promote criminal acts
  • Comments that slander or defame a particular individual, company, group, or other entity, or damage another entity's reputation or trustworthiness, etc.
  • Comments infringing on the intellectual property rights of the Cabinet Office or third parties, such as copyrights, trademarks, and portrait rights
  • Comments disclosing or violating privacy by identifying personal information without consent
  • Comments intended for advertising, promotion, solicitation, business activities, or other profit-oriented purposes
  • Comments intended for political or religious activities
  • Comments containing false or significantly inaccurate information
  • Comments discriminating against, or promote discrimination based on race, ideology, creed, etc.
  • Comments impersonating other users, third parties, etc.
  • Modification of part or all of the content disseminated by the Government PR Office
  • Comments unrelated to the content disseminated by the Government PR Office
  • Comments with the same or similar contents that are posted repeatedly by the same user
  • Other information or links that the Government PR Office deems inappropriate

7. Governing Law and Agreement on Jurisdiction

(1) This Operational Policy shall be interpreted pursuant to the laws of Japan.

(2) All disputes (including mediation procedures of the courts) related to the use of content under this Operational Policy and all disputes related to this Operational Policy will be exclusively resolved by the district court having jurisdiction over the location of the organization that has made the content or published this Operational Policy.

January 12, 2012
Last update: June 12, 2024

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Please Note:
  • The linked website is distinct from the website of the Public Relations Office of the Cabinet Office.
  • The URL of the website mentioned in this notice is as of November 21, 2023.
  • The website's URL may be discontinued or changed. Please verify the latest URL on your own.
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