Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Social Media Moderation Policy

November 2025
Japanese

1. Administration

(1) Contributor

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)

(2) Contents of posts

MAFF's measures and operations, and the related information

2. MAFF accounts

 This policy establishes matters concerning to the operation of the following social media accounts managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (hereinafter referred to as the “MAFF accounts”). For details on the MAFF accounts, please refer to the following links.
List of the MAFF accounts (in Japanese)

3. Management of comments

(1) Responding to comments

 The MAFF accounts are exclusively for the purpose of disseminating information, and MAFF shall not respond to comments in principle. Inquiries and opinions are accepted on an ongoing basis through the contact form on MAFF’s website, so parties with questions and comments should use that channel.

(2) Deletion of comments

 In the operation of MAFF accounts, please be advised that comments that are unrelated to the post and/or comments that are deemd to fall under any of the following categories may be fully or partially hidden, deleted, or rejected without prior notification to the contributor.

• Contents that violate, or could potentially violate, laws and regulations
• Contents that go against public order and morals
• Contents that incite criminal behavior
• Contents that are slanderous or defamatory to specific individuals, corporations, organizations, etc., or which damage their reputation or credibility
• Contents that violate privacy, such as by disclosing or leaking personal information without the individual’s consent
• Contents that infringe on third-party patents, design rights, copyrights, trademarks, portrait rights, etc.
• Contents that serve the objectives of political activities, election activities, religious activities, and/or commercial activities, or which serve similar purposes
• Contents that are fraudulent or significantly different from the facts
• Contents that discriminate, or promote discrimination, based on race, ideology, creed, etc.
• Comments with identical or similar contents that are repeatedly posted by the same user
• Contents used to impersonate other users, third parties, etc.
• Contents that include malicious computer programs, etc.
• Contents that fully or partially modify the contents communicated by MAFF
• Contents that violate the terms of use of the applicable social media service
• Any other contents deemed inappropriate by MAFF for the operation of each account

(3) Blocking users

  Comments from users who post comments corresponding to 3. (2) above may be blocked. Users who disrupt the appropriate operation of the MAFF accounts may be blocked permanently.

(4) Following other accounts

 Regarding the MAFF accounts listed in the section 2. above, the MAFF official Facebook page (Japanese and English versions), MAFF official X page (formerly Twitter), MAFF official Instagram page, MAFF official YouTube channel (maffchannel and BUZZ MAFF), and MAFF official Kitchen [Cookpad], we generally do not “follow,” “like,” or “repost” accounts other than those belonging to countries, government agencies, local public entities, or organizations with a high degree of public interest.

4. Prohibition of use of URL shortener services

 To maintain MAFF’s security standards, the use of URL shortener services is prohibited in principle except in cases where such use is unavoidable, for example, when the social media service has a function that automatically shortens the URL.

5. Changes to the Moderation Policy

This Moderation Policy is subject to changes without prior notice.

6. Intellectual property rights

 The intellectual property rights of photographs, illustrations, audio, videos, articles, and other contents published on the MAFF accounts belong to MAFF or the legitimate rights holder.
 Functions such as “Like” (Facebook) and “Repost” (X, formerly Twitter), and including functions similar to these, may be used freely on posts published on the MAFF accounts. Reproduction is permissible with clear attribution of the source of the contents.
 Additionally, for secondary use beyond the functions provided by social media, reproduction with clear attribution is permitted in accordance with this Moderation Policy and the following (1) to (4). However, this is not applicable in cases where there is a note indicating “unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited,” for example.

(1) Attribution

(i) Please provide proper attribution when using the content. The attribution method is as follows.
    (Attribution examples)
    Source: MAFF official Facebook page (relevant URL)
    Source: MAFF official X page (relevant URL)
    Source: MAFF official YouTube channel BUZZ MAFF (relevant URL), etc.

(ii) When editing, modifying, or otherwise utilizing the content, please state that editing, modification, or other processing has been performed, in addition to the above attribution.       Furthermore, you must not publish or use the edited or modified information in a manner that suggests it was created by the national government (or ministries)
    (Examples of statements when editing or modifying content for use)
     Created by modifying the MAFF official Facebook page (relevant URL)
     Created by XX Co., Ltd. based on MAFF official X page (relevant URL), etc.
     Note: Please make sure to include the URL.

(2) Not infringing on the rights of third parties

 Regarding image files such as photographs, third parties may hold rights to them. If you wish to use them, please confirm with MAFF beforehand.

(3) Content subject to use restrictions under specific laws and regulations

 Some content may be subject to use restrictions under specific laws and regulations. In particular, please note the following. For details, refer to the respective linked pages.
(i) Act on Japanese Agricultural Standards
    Restrictions on the use of grading indications (commonly known as the “JAS Mark”) specified by the MAFF Ordinance based on provisions, including Article 10 of the Act on         Japanese Agricultural Standards.
    JAS logo (PDF: 468KB)
    Organic JAS
(ii) Act on Protection of the Names of Specific Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Products and Foodstuffs (Geographical Indication (GI) Act)
     Labeling of a registered mark (GI mark) provided in Article 4 of the Act on Protection of the Names of Specific Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Products and Foodstuffs
     Geographical Indication (GI) protection system

(4) Content to which these use rules do not apply

 These use rules do not apply to the following content. For details on the content, refer to page 1 (4) of the linked page.
 Terms of use: MAFF

7. Disclaimer

 While every measure is taken to ensure the accuracy of information published on the MAFF accounts, MAFF bears no responsibility for any actions taken by users using information from the MAFF accounts.

 Please be advised that MAFF accepts no responsibility for any problems that arise between users in connection with MAFF’s social media accounts or the damages incurred as a result thereof, as well as problems that arise between users and third parties in connection with the MAFF accounts or the damages incurred as a result thereof, as well as problems that arise between users and third parties in connection with the MAFF accounts or the damages incurred as a result thereof.

 The copyrights, etc. of comments and other posts belong to the users who published the posts in question. However, by publishing a post, the user grants MAFF the right to use the content of the post non-exclusively and free of charge worldwide, and agrees not to exercise their copyrights, etc. against MAFF.

 You may be redirected to websites managed and operated by other organizations, companies, or groups via links or similar means. These linked sites are managed and operated under the responsibility of the respective organizations. MAFF assumes no responsibility whatsoever for the content of such linked sites or for any actions taken by users based on the information found there.

 In addition to the above, MAFF bears no responsibility for any damages that arise in connection with the MAFF accounts.