Terms of Service

Last updated: October 22, 2026

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") set forth the conditions for using Rukayu (the "Service"). Please read these Terms carefully before using the Service. By using the Service, you are deemed to have agreed to these Terms.

Article 1 (Definitions)

• Operator: The business entity providing the Service (the seller listed in the legal notice under Japanese law).
• Service: The Rukayu platform for selling support medals and distributing creator rewards.
• Purchaser (Sender): A user who buys a support medal and uses it on a recipient's page or stream.
• Recipient (Creator): A user who registers with the Service and receives rewards based on medal usage.
• Support medal: A digital right sold by the Operator (message display, size/color/timing, badges, etc. on a page or stream). Not a stored-value point balance.
• Reward: An incentive paid by the Operator to a recipient based on medal usage (not a peer-to-peer money transfer).
• Payment Provider: Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates.

Article 2 (Nature of the Service)

1. Purchasers buy support medals from the Operatorand use them on a recipient's public page or live stream. The Operator sells medals, provides display features, and pays recipients rewards based on usage.
2. The Operator does not guarantee the quality, legality, or accuracy of products, services, or activities offered by recipients.
3. Medal payments are processed as Operator revenue via the Payment Provider. Payments to recipients are rewards (incentives), not peer-to-peer remittances. Rewards are paid principally on a weekly schedule (Fridays, same for all recipients)through Stripe Connect after payout setup is complete. Bank transfers principally start on the same weekly schedule; arrival timing follows the Payment Provider's rules (start date is not necessarily the bank arrival date).
4. The purchase contract is between the purchaser and the Operator. Recipients receive rewards under the Service terms. Chargebacks follow the Payment Provider's procedures.

Article 3 (Eligibility)

1. The Service may be used by persons with legal capacity, or by persons who have obtained consent from a legal guardian.
2. Senders shall send tips based on their own intent using available payment methods.
3. Recipients must complete identity verification and account registration required by the Payment Provider (Stripe Connect onboarding) and maintain valid payout settings. Without completed payout setup, recipients cannot receive rewards to Connect or their bank. Medal purchases may be possible after payout details are submitted (including while under Payment Provider review); purchases may be declined before submission. Transfer of rewards requires completed payout setup (including passing review).
4. Use by antisocial forces or persons affiliated with such groups is prohibited.
5. The Operator may decline an application for registration, or suspend use without prior notice even after approval.

Article 3-2 (Recipient Obligations and Representations)

1. (Legal compliance) Recipients shall comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines when receiving tips through the Service.
2. (Complaint handling) Recipients shall respond in good faith and appropriately, at their own responsibility, to complaints and inquiries from senders and other users regarding their activities and content, and represent and warrant that they maintain systems to do so.
3. (Consent to disclosure of information) Recipients consent in advance that the Operator or Payment Provider (including its master merchant / platform agent) may provide registration, identity verification, and transaction information about recipients to the Payment Provider, card networks and issuers/acquirers (including JCB Co., Ltd.), and other related parties for anti-money laundering, fraud prevention, merchant review, and other legitimate purposes, and that such parties may use the information.
4. (Exclusion of antisocial forces) Recipients represent, warrant, and agree as follows:
   1. They are not, and will not in the future be, a member of organized crime groups or other antisocial forces.
   2. If the Operator, Payment Provider, or a card company determines that a recipient is or may be affiliated with antisocial forces, the Operator may suspend use, delete accounts, or take other necessary measures (including suspension of transactions) without prior notice.
   3. If damage, costs, or disadvantage arise from such measures, recipients shall not claim damages or any monetary compensation from the Operator, Payment Provider, card companies, or their group companies.

Article 4 (Accounts)

1. Recipients must register accurate and up-to-date information and must not make false registrations or impersonate others.
2. Users are responsible for managing login credentials. If unauthorized use by a third party is suspected, contact the Operator immediately.
3. Recipients shall respond within deadlines to requests shown on the Stripe dashboard, including identity verification and additional information submissions. The Operator is not liable if payouts are paused due to non-compliance.
4. Users may delete their account at any time from the app or web dashboard (under "Profile"). Deleting an account erases personal information such as email address, display name, and profile. However, transaction records that must be retained for payment processing, refund/dispute handling, and legal requirements (tax, accounting, etc.) are kept in anonymized form for the necessary period. Any pending payouts are handled under Articles 5 and 7.

Article 5 (Medal Purchase, Use, and Rewards)

1. Purchasers select a support medal on a recipient page or enter a free amount (for Japanese yen: tax-inclusive ¥56 to ¥30,000 per purchase). The medal granted follows the amount tier. The displayed tax-inclusive price is the total charged; the Operator does not add fees to the purchaser.
2. For the same purchaser (identified by IP address or similar), daily purchases in Japanese yen are capped at ¥50,000, weekly at ¥200,000, and daily purchase count at 10.
3. Support medals are digital rights used at purchase time, not stored-value points. Purchase grants display rights on the recipient's page or stream.
4. After payment, the Operator pays the recipient a reward based on usage. For Japanese yen, medal prices are tax-inclusive. The reward equals the tax-exclusive amount minus the Operator's fee of 10%of that tax-exclusive amount (card processing included; rounding per the Operator's calculation method). Consumption tax is included in the Operator's sale and is not added on top for the purchaser. Standard and Live mode use the same rate. However, for recipients registered before the 17 Oct 2026 service switch and within three (3) months of registration, a welcome rate of 6% of the tax-exclusive amount continues for standard use (Live mode remains 10%). Welcome does not apply to registrations on or after that switch date. Rewards are paid principally on a weekly schedule (Fridays, same for all recipients) after Connect payout setup. Bank transfers principally start on the same weekly schedule; arrival timing follows the Payment Provider.
5. If a reward remains untransferred to the recipient's Connect account for sixty (60) days from payment (including incomplete payout setup, review holds, or other causes), or if older untransferred tips from before the 17 Oct 2026 terms update remain untransferred for that period, the Operator may treat them as expired and refund the purchaser via the Payment Provider (amended 22 Oct 2026).
6. Messages and similar content must follow Operator policies. Illegal or harmful content may lead to deletion and/or account suspension.

Article 6 (Fees)

1. For Japanese yen, prices are tax-inclusive and the Operator's fee deducted before reward calculation is 10%of the tax-exclusive amount (card costs included; same for standard and Live). Differences in Payment Provider processing costs by card type or issuer country do not change the recipient's reward rate on the tax-exclusive base; such costs are absorbed within the Operator's take.
2. Fee rates, calculation methods, and reward payout cadence may change under the amendment procedure in these Terms. Referral allocations are in Article 9.
3. Recipients shall turn Live mode OFF after streaming.

Article 7 (Refunds, Cancellations, and Chargebacks)

1. Tips are processed immediately and, by nature, are generally non-refundable and non-cancellable. Senders must carefully verify the amount and recipient before sending.
2. The Operator will consider case-by-case handling only in the following situations: (1) apparent duplicate charges or erroneous billing due to system failure; (2) where handling is required by the Payment Provider or applicable laws; or (3) where fraudulent payment or similar circumstances reasonably require action by the Operator.
3. Even when a refund is made, processing by the Payment Provider or financial institutions may delay reflection after completion. If a refund is denied or fails at the Payment Provider, no alternative refund method is guaranteed.
4. If a sender initiates a chargeback with a card issuer or similar institution, it will be processed under the Payment Provider's procedures. If loss is incurred by the recipient or the Operator, the user concerned may be held responsible under applicable laws and the Payment Provider's terms.
5. For inquiries regarding refunds or disputes, contact the details listed in the legal notice (rukayu39@gmail.com) and include payment date, amount, recipient name, and circumstances.

Article 8 (Prohibited Conduct)

Users must not engage in any of the following:

• Acts that violate laws, public order, or morals, or use for criminal activity.
• Use for fraud, impersonation, money laundering, terrorist financing, or similar acts.
• Use for industries or products prohibited by the Payment Provider or the Operator.
• Use for cash-out purposes, or use disguised as issuance or resale of digital money, points, vouchers, or prepaid payment instruments.
• False recipient registration or unauthorized use of third-party account/identity data.
• Vulnerability probing, excessive load, unauthorized access, or scraping of the Service.
• Infringing rights of other users or third parties (copyright, portrait rights, privacy, etc.).
• Conduct causing disadvantage or damage to the Operator, Payment Provider, or other users.
• Conduct that harms the credibility of the Service or interferes with operations.
• Any other conduct the Operator reasonably deems inappropriate.

Article 9 (Referral Program)

1. The Operator may provide a program allowing recipients to refer other recipients. A referrer may receive 1% of gross tip volume (lifetime, gross basis) from referred recipients via transfers by the Payment Provider.
2. Referral attribution is limited to referral links at new registration (?ref=), cannot be changed after registration, and self-referral is not allowed.
3. Referrers must be recipients with completed Stripe Connect payout settings. Payment of referral rewards is conditioned on completed tip payments and successful processing by the Payment Provider.
4. The referral program may be modified or terminated at the Operator's discretion. If fraudulent referrals are found (e.g., fake registrations, circumvention of self-referral rules, circular tipping), rewards may be withheld and/or accounts suspended.
5. Tax filing and payment obligations regarding referral rewards are the referrer's responsibility.
6. The Operator may grant individual partner tiers with referral rates different from the standard 1%. Partner tiers are assigned, changed, or ended at the Operator's discretion. Referred recipients' all-in fee (10%) does not change. Partner rewards are paid from the Operator's share.

Article 10 (Content and Intellectual Property)

1. Recipients are responsible for the rights, legality, and appropriateness of content they publish, including profiles, images, and text.
2. The Operator may hide or remove content without prior notice if there is suspicion of legal violations, rights infringement, or violation of these Terms.
3. Rights relating to the Service's programs, design, logos, names, and related materials belong to the Operator or legitimate rights holders. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

Article 11 (Use of Data)

The Operator uses transaction and operational data generated through use of the Service only to provide, operate, improve, and protect the Service from fraud. The Operator does not sell or provide users' personal or transaction data to third parties, except for disclosures to payment providers necessary for processing payments and where required by law. The Operator does not provide statistical reports to third parties. For details, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

Article 12 (Changes to or Suspension of Service)

1. The Operator may change or temporarily suspend all or part of the Service due to maintenance, feature additions/changes, or changes in Payment Provider specifications.
2. In the following cases, the Operator may suspend service provision or delete/restrict accounts without prior notice: (1) violation of these Terms; (2) request from the Payment Provider; (3) legal requirement; or (4) unavoidable operational reasons.
3. In case of service termination, the Operator will provide notice on the website or similar channel with a reasonable notice period, and outstanding recipient balances will be handled under Payment Provider procedures.

Article 13 (Disclaimer)

1. The Service is provided "as is." The Operator does not warrant fitness for a particular purpose, achievement of expected results, or uninterrupted/error-free operation.
2. The Operator is not liable for damages arising from causes beyond its reasonable control, including those related to the Payment Provider, communication networks, devices, or the recipient's Stripe account status.
3. For disputes between senders and recipients (including meaning of tips, amounts, and communication), the Operator will not be involved and bears no responsibility except to the extent required by law.

Article 14 (Limitation of Liability)

1. Where the Operator is liable for damages to a user under these Terms, except in cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence by the Operator, liability is capped as follows: (1) for recipients, the total platform fees paid by that user to the Operator in the preceding 12 months; (2) for senders, the tip amount that gave rise to the damage. However, where exemptions are restricted by the Consumer Contract Act or other laws, this limitation applies only to the extent permitted.
2. The Operator is not liable for indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages, or lost profits, except in cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence.

Article 15 (Indemnification by Users)

If a user violates these Terms or causes damage/costs to the Operator due to reasons attributable to that user, the user shall indemnify the Operator for such damage/costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees.

Article 16 (Personal Information)

Handling of personal information is governed by the Privacy Policy.

Article 17 (Amendment of Terms)

1. The Operator may amend these Terms in response to changes in laws or changes to service content.
2. The amended Terms will be announced by posting on the Service or by other methods deemed appropriate by the Operator, and become effective on the date of posting/notice. Continued use of the Service after amendment constitutes agreement to the amended Terms.
3. If an amendment causes significant disadvantage to users, the Operator will endeavor to provide a reasonable notice period.

Article 18 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction)

These Terms are governed by the laws of Japan. In the event of disputes related to the Service, the court with jurisdiction over the location of the Operator's principal office shall have exclusive jurisdiction in the first instance. If the Consumer Contract Act applies, such statutory rules shall prevail.

Article 19 (Severability)

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

Article 20 (Contact)

For inquiries about these Terms or the Service, please contact the details listed in the legal notice under the Specified Commercial Transactions Act (rukayu39@gmail.com).

These Terms provide general usage conditions for the public and do not constitute individual legal advice. For business expansion, cross-border operations, crowdfunding, or similar matters, consultation with a qualified professional is recommended.