COUNTDOWN is an unique global crowdfunding site from Japan with the picked challenges.

Terms of Use

Article 1 (General)
  1. These COUNTDOWN Terms of Use ("Terms") prescribe the terms of use on the service ("Service") to be provided by ALEX Corporation for COUNTDOWN (www.countdown-x.com) ("Website"), which is a website administered by us.
  2. These Terms include Q&A, Privacy Policy and other information on how to use the Service and on notable matters, posted on the Website.
  3. Users of Service shall be deemed to have agreed to these Terms upon their use of the Service. "User" shall mean "Challenger" (as defined in Article 2) and/or "Supporter" (as defined in Article 2) both of whom have completed the user registration in accordance with Article 3.1.
  4. We are entitled to amend these Terms at any time. Unless otherwise prescribed by us, the amended Terms shall become effective as soon as such amended Terms are posted on the Website, and the Users shall be deemed to have agreed to such amended Terms.
  5. Both corporate bodies and individuals are eligible to use the Service; provided, however, that minors are required to obtain the consent of their parent or guardian prior to their use of Service.
  6. In the case where Challenger is a minor(under 18 years old), their parent or guardian is required to agree to provide responsible supervision over Challenger and submit a written statement.
Article 2 (Details of Service)
  1. The Service is a service which provides opportunity to (1) Users who wish to achieve the goal of their Challenges ("Challenger") by receiving financial support from Supporters and (2) Users who wish to provide financial support ("Supporter") to the Challenge of Challenger to communicate with each other through the Website.
Article 3 (User Registration)
  1. To use the Service, please complete the user registration and open an account on the Website by following the guide on the Website (registration link). Users may not open more than one account.
  2. Users are required to immediately notify us if there is any change in User’s registration information (Please contact [link to webpage providing contact information]).
  3. We shall not be liable for any loss incurred by Users due to any false statements or errors contained in User’s registration information.
  4. Users shall adequately keep their account and password confidential since Users are responsible for their account, password and use of the Service by using such account and password. Users may not transfer to a third party or otherwise dispose of any of their rights or obligations arising from their account, password and use of the Service. We shall not be responsible for a third party’s use of User’s account and password.
  5. If Users wish to cancel their user registration, Users may request cancellation of the user registration here; provided, however, that Challengers may not cancel the user registration without our consent after their receipt of the Challenge Fund (as defined in Article 6.1).
Article 4 (Challenge Proposal by Challengers)
  1. Challenger, who has a Challenge with a goal which the Challenger wishes to achieve by receiving financial support from Supporters, shall submit to us a Challenge proposal, which contains clear explanation of matters provided below and which is written in Japanese and/or English, by following the method designated by us.
    • (1) Details of the Challenge
    • (2) Reason why Challenger wishes to achieve the goal of the Challenge
    • (3) Amount (in JPY) (including consumption tax) of Supporters’ financial support necessary to achieve the goal of the Challenge ("Target Amount")
    • (4) Period for which Challenger will seek financial support from Supporters on the Website ("Request Period") (The maximum number of days of the Request Period shall generally be 90 days.)
    • (5) In case the total amount of financial support (including consumption tax) ("Total Support Amount") that Supporters indicated to provide reaches the Target Amount, the details of service or goods (which shall not include money) which Challenger will provide to Supporters ("Return") during the implementation of the Challenge or after the achievement of the goal of the Challenge and the date when Challenger will provide Supporters with such Return. If it is planned that the Return will be provided after the achievement of the goal of the Challenge, the provision of the Return shall be made within 60 days therefrom at the latest.
    • (6) Any other beneficial information in order for Supporters to understand the Challenge
  2. We will evaluate whether the Challenge will be posted on the Website and will contact Challenger on the result within 14 days of our receipt of proposal from Challenger. The notification of the result of evaluation may be subject to delay if any errors in the details of the proposal are found or due to other reasons. Challenger may not make any objection to the result of evaluation. We may make inquiries to Challenger relating to the proposal during the evaluation period.
  3. Challenges approved by us will be posted on the Challenge Page of the Website in Japanese and English. If the proposal is prepared in either Japanese or English, we will prepare its English or Japanese translation (We will prepare subtitles in case the proposal includes a video.).
  4. Challenger may not seek any support for the challenge identical or similar to the Challenge approved by us in exchange for return identical or similar to the Return approved by us, on any website similar to the Website or by any other methods.
  5. Challenger shall form a team with at least one support staff and report it to the COUNTDOWN administration team. Challenger shall ensure that the challenger and / or the support staff keep contact with the administration team during the requested period.
Article 5 (Request for Financial Support for the Challenge)
  1. Users are entitled to ask questions relating to the Challenge to Challenger during the Request Period, and Challenger shall endeavor to respond to such questions in good faith.
  2. Supporters may indicate their intention to provide financial support (in the amount of at least 500 yen including consumption tax) for the Challenge posted on the Website during the Request Period in accordance with the method designated by us .
  3. Supporters are entitled to withdraw their indication to provide financial support as prescribed in Article 5.2 prior to the expiration of the Request Period in accordance with the method designated by us. Supporters may not withdraw their indication to provide financial support or cancel the payment of financial support after the expiration of the Request Period, and are required to provide the financial support as they indicated. Please note that there may be times when Challenger shortens the Request Period in accordance with Article 6.4.
  4. After the commencement of the Request Period, the Challenger may not discontinue or change the Challenge posted on Challenger’s Challenge Page without our consent.
Article 6 (Materialization of Challenge)
  1. In the event that the Total Support Amount has reached the Target Amount as of the expiration of the Request Period, we will process the payment of the Total Support Amount by PayPal. We will pay the amount of the processed Total Support Amount to Challenger after deducting our handling fee, etc. for the Service ("Challenge Fund") by remitting such amount to the bank account designated by Challenger no later than the last day of the month immediately following the month to which the expiration date of the Request Period belongs. The amount of our handling fee, etc. is 20% of the processed Total Support Amount (including the consumption tax on such handling fee and bank charge to be paid at the time of payment of the Challenge Fund to Challenger).
  2. Even in the case where the Total Support Amount processed under Article 6.1 does not reach the Target Amount, Challenger may not make any objections against anyone or give up the Challenge. There may be times when we will inform Supporters that their payment has not been processed; provided, however, that we do not guarantee that the amount of the financial support indicated by such Supporters will be processed at a later date.
  3. The Challenge for which the Total Support Amount has not reached the Target Amount by the expiration of the Request Period will generally continue to be posted on the Website until the date when we separately make its decision, but the Supporters’ indication to provide financial support to the Challenge shall be deemed to be withdrawn. In such case, the Total Support Amount from Supporters will not be processed and Challenger will not receive such Total Support Amount. Challenger may not recommence the request for financial support for such Challenge unless Challenger carries out the procedure prescribed in Article 4 again.
  4. In the event that the Total Support Amount reaches the Target Amount prior to the expiration of the Request Period, Challenger may shorten the Request Period with our consent. The Request Period will also expire in the event that the condition for shortening the Request Period as separately set forth in the Challenger’s Challenge Page is met.
  5. This does not apply to the Collaboration Challenge which is done throughout the year, where we process the payment of the Total Support Amount on the date stated on the Challenge Page even when the Challenger has not reached the Target Amount.
Article 7 (Achieving the Goal of Challenge)
  1. Challenger, whose Challenge’s Total Support Amount reached the Target Amount as of the expiration of the Request Period, shall assume the following obligations to Supporters after the expiration of the Request Period:
    • (1) To use the Challenge Fund for the sole purpose of achieving the goal of the Challenge
    • (2) To use best efforts to achieve the goal of the Challenge
    • (3) To report the progress of the Challenge on the Challenge Page as appropriate
    • (4) To provide Return to Supporters who paid the Challenge Fund
    • (5) To keep confidential and refrain from disclosing or divulging to any third party the personal information of Supporters provided by us and to refrain from using such personal information for purposes other than providing the Return to Supporters who paid the Challenge Fund. The confidential obligation prescribed in this (5) shall continue after the cancellation of the user registration by Challenger.
    • (6) In the case where the Challenge does not reach the Target Amount and fail to acheive the goal, we will not disclose the personal information of Supporters to the Challenger.
  2. Supporters who paid the Challenge Fund are entitled to receive the Return from Challenger under the terms and conditions set forth in the Challenger’s Challenge Page.
  3. Challenger shall ensure that the challenger and / or the support staff keep contact with the administration team until the provision of all returns is completed.
Article 8 (Intellectual Property Right)
  1. We own the rights to all contents to be provided by us on the Website (including, without limitation, data, logo, image, illustration, graphic, audio clip, video clip, flash animation and text information). Users may not reproduce, transmit, transfer, lease, translate or make any other uses of such contents.
  2. We do not grant Users with any license to exercise or use any patent right, utility model right, design right, trademark right, copyright, knowhow which contains any right or other intellectual property right under these Terms.
  3. Any intellectual property rights relating to any contents posted on the Website or submitted or transmitted to us by Users (collectively, "User Contents") shall vest in Users. Users may not transfer to any third party, create security interests on or otherwise dispose of such intellectual property rights during the Users’ use of the Service. Users shall be deemed to have granted us with a nonexclusive right to reproduce, adapt, translate, publicize, and otherwise exploit the User Contents as permitted under the Copyright Act, by using the Website free of charge for an indefinite period. Users may not exercise the moral rights of author on such User Contents against us.
Article 9 (Prohibited Acts)
  1. Users may not engage in the following prohibited acts on the Website or upon their use of the Service:
    • (1) To engage in any act which violates these Terms or laws and regulations;
    • (2) To illegally use or permit a third party to wrongfully use the account or password;
    • (3) To provide us with or post on the Website any contents which include, among others, contents irrelevant to the Service, false statements or computer viruses;
    • (4) To engage in any act which infringes or has the risk of infringing on any right of a third party (including, without limitation, intellectual property right, creditworthiness, reputation, privacy right and right of portrait);
    • (5) To advertise or solicit for commercial purposes and for their own benefit or benefit of a third party;
    • (6) To engage in any act which causes problems to the administration of the Service; or
    • (7) To engage in any act which violates the public order and standards of decency or which is socially inappropriate.
  2. We are entitled to suspend the User’s account, suspend the posting of the Challenge, delete the User Contents, suspend the User’s use of all or part of the Service or take any other measures which we determine as necessary in the event that we determine that such User engaged in any prohibited act prescribed in Article 9.1 or any other event occurs which we determine as reasonable to take such measures. We shall not be liable for any damages incurred by such User or other Users due to such measures.
Article 10 (User’s Responsibility)
  1. Users shall prepare at their responsibility and cost the environment to access the Service such as the equipment and software necessary to use the Service. We shall not be responsible for such preparation.
  2. Users shall resolve at their responsibility and cost and without causing any trouble to us (1) any complaint or other assertions by other Users or third parties who assert that their rights have been infringed by such User’s use of the Service and (2) any dispute between such User and other Users or third parties in relation to the use of the Website or the Service. We shall not be responsible for such complaint, assertion and dispute.
  3. Users shall use the Service at their responsibility in compliance with (1) these Terms and (2) laws and regulations applicable to these Terms and Users (including laws and regulations of foreign countries).
  4. Users shall obtain the advice from professionals on any tax matters relating to the use of the Service as necessary at their responsibility and cost.
  5. In case User breaches any of the provisions in these Terms and (1) if we incur any damages or other costs due to such breach, such User shall be liable to us for such damages and other costs (including attorney’s fee) and (2) if any third party files any petition against us (including, without limitation, complaint and claim), such User shall resolve such problem without causing any trouble to us.
Article 11 (Disclaimer)
  1. Notwithstanding any other provisions in these Terms, we shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages incurred by Users or third party due to any of the following reasons, unless such damages are attributable to our intentional misconduct or gross negligence:
    • (1) Change, suspension or discontinuance of the Service;
    • (2) Deletion /change of matters provided by Users on the Website or change in location where such matters are posted; and
    • (3) Suspension or delay in system or loss of data due to malfunction in communication line or computer or unauthorized access to data found on the Website.
  2. We shall not be liable for any damages incurred by Users through the use of the Website (including any damages caused by other User’s act).
  3. We do not warrant that the services, e-mails or contents sent from the Website and any server relating to the Website do not contain anything harmful such as computer virus.
  4. Users are responsible for the lawfulness and accuracy of the User Contents. We are not responsible for them.
  5. We do not guarantee that the Total Support Amount for the Challenge reaches the Target Amount during the Request Period, that the goal of Challenge will be achieved and that Challenger will provide Return to Supporters who paid the Challenge Fund under the terms and conditions set forth on the Challenge Page.
Article 12 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction)
  1. These Terms are governed by the laws of Japan.
  2. The Tokyo District Court shall be the court of first instance with exclusive jurisdiction with respect to any dispute between any User and us relating to the Website or the Service.