Translate terms and conditions of sale into Japanese

What changes when terms and conditions go into Japanese

Japanese terms of sale follow their own conventions, and three of them must stay consistent from the first clause to the last.

• Clause numbering. “Clause 1 – Purpose” becomes 第1条（目的）: the number framed by 第 and 条, the heading in full-width brackets. Sub-clauses are usually numbered 1, 2, 3 and lists （1）（2）. A cross-reference such as “as set out in clause 7” becomes 第7条に定めるとおり.
• Defined terms. “the Seller” is usually rendered 当社 (“the Company”), “the Customer” お客様 or 購入者. Which one matters less than using it every time: one party named two ways creates legal ambiguity.
• The obligation formula. “The Customer shall pay…” is typically お客様は、…を支払うものとします。 The ending 〜ものとします is the standard marker of a contractual obligation in Japanese.

Consumer-facing terms use neutral polite です・ます style. Keigo here signals courtesy, not sales emphasis, so over-humble phrasing is out of place.

Script, punctuation and layout

Japanese mixes kanji, hiragana and katakana, with no spaces between words. In practice:

• Full-width punctuation: 、 and 。 replace the comma and full stop; quoted terms go inside 「 」.
• Dates and amounts: “1 April 2025” is written 2025年4月1日; a price appears as, for example, 1,000円（税込）.
• Plurals: Japanese has a single form, so “the product(s)” is simply 商品 and clauses get lighter.
• Line breaks: no hyphenation; justified text breaks between characters.
• Fonts: in a Word file, Japanese text needs a font that contains the characters. Readers without one see empty boxes. A PDF with embedded fonts avoids this.

Japanese is measured in characters rather than words, so page density changes, but tables of delivery charges or return periods stay readable without major rework.

Japanese legal points to have checked

A translation renders your clauses faithfully; it does not make them compliant with Japanese law. If you sell to consumers in Japan, ask a local lawyer to review the translated version on these points:

• Distance selling falls under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (特定商取引法), which requires specific disclosures: seller identity and address, price, delivery and return terms. Japanese websites group them on a page headed 特定商取引法に基づく表記.
• The Consumer Contract Act (消費者契約法) can void a clause excluding all of the seller's liability to a consumer. A limitation clause acceptable at home is not automatically valid in Japan.
• Consumer prices are displayed tax-inclusive.
• Governing law and courts: the translation keeps whatever your source says. If you want a Japanese governing law clause (準拠法) and court, decide that before translating.
• Prevailing language: add a clause to the source stating which version prevails in case of discrepancy.

What Manuce delivers, and what it does not

Your terms go to Themis, the engine specialised in legal texts. Upload a Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, plain text, Markdown, HTML, RTF or CSV file and the quote appears at once, based on the exact word count. For terms of around 3,000 words (8 pages), the translation is delivered within minutes and the file comes back in its original format, clause numbering and layout included. It stays available in your client area.

Before you pay, a free sample shows one paragraph translated at the level you chose: pick the liability clause, for instance, to judge the register and the 〜ものとします phrasing. Japanese carries a surcharge (×1.6 on the per-word rate).

What Manuce does not do:

• no certified (sworn) translation: if a court or authority requires one, you need a sworn translator;
• no scanned PDFs: an image without selectable text cannot be read;
• no legal adaptation: your clauses are translated, not rewritten for Japanese law.

Preparing the file and checking the Japanese version

Before uploading:

• Send the final version with tracked changes and comments removed: everything in the file is translated.
• Check that your PDF contains selectable text; if not, upload the original Word file.
• Settle governing law and the prevailing-language clause in the source.

After delivery:

• Check that every “clause X” cross-reference points to the right 第X条.
• Search for 当社 and お客様 throughout to confirm the parties are named consistently.
• Brand names, company name and registered address should stay as they are: check them in the free sample, then in the delivered file.
• Open the file on a computer without Japanese settings to check how fonts display.

In practice

1. Upload your terms in Word or text-based PDF and select Japanese.
2. Read the free sample, ideally a liability or cancellation clause.
3. Accept the quote based on the exact word count and pay.
4. Download the translated file, layout intact, from your client area.
5. Have a Japanese lawyer review the legal points before publishing.