What is the Method to Delete Reviews of the Marriage Hunting Salon 'Compass'?

Marriage Activity Salon Compass is a review and word-of-mouth information site for marriage consultation offices nationwide, where you can search for marriage consultation offices, compare fees, and consult about marriage activities. On Marriage Activity Salon Compass, you can also post reviews of marriage consultation offices. If you find a marriage consultation office that interests you by looking at the reviews, you can also request materials. However, there may be cases where negative reviews are posted, such as “Staff A was very rude. He seems to have been divorced three times” or “There were many additional fees that were not explained when joining, and the fees were much higher than expected.” In such cases, users who are searching for marriage consultation offices on search engines like Google or within Marriage Activity Salon Compass run the risk of seeing negative reviews. If negative reviews are posted on Marriage Activity Salon Compass, is it possible to request the removal of such reviews? Also, in what cases would it be better to consult a lawyer?

What is Marriage Salon Compass?

At Marriage Salon Compass, you can search for marriage consultation offices by keywords or area, compare the fees of different marriage consultation offices, and seek advice on marriage activities. Additionally, you can write and read reviews about these consultation offices. If negative reviews about a marriage consultation office are posted on Marriage Salon Compass, there is a possibility that users who are searching for marriage consultation offices on search engines like Google or on Marriage Salon Compass may hesitate to apply to that office after seeing these reviews.

What are the Negative Reviews Posted on the Marriage Activity Salon Compass?

When you search for marriage consultation offices at the Marriage Activity Salon Compass, you can find reviews about the ‘gap before and after joining’ and ‘cost performance’ of the marriage consultation offices. Among these reviews, there may be negative ones that could be considered defamatory. What kind of negative reviews are posted on the Marriage Activity Salon Compass? Below are some examples of possible negative reviews.

Reviews stating that the staff’s attitude was very bad

This is a case where a review like “Staff A’s attitude was very rude. Apparently, they’ve been divorced three times” is posted. If the staff’s attitude was bad, it might be inevitable to receive such reviews, but there is also a possibility that such a review was posted due to a misunderstanding between the poster and the staff. Such negative reviews could potentially harm the marriage consultation office, leading to a decrease in membership, for example.

Reviews stating that there were many additional charges not explained at the time of joining

This is a case where a review stating “There were many additional charges not explained at the time of joining, and the cost was much higher than expected” is posted. Such a review can be useful information for users considering a marriage consultation office, if it is true. However, there is also a possibility that the poster may perceive that they were charged additional fees without prior explanation, despite the fact that the office had thoroughly explained the fee plan. In such cases, if a review stating “There were many additional charges not explained at the time of joining, and the cost was much higher than expected” is posted, the marriage consultation office in question may suffer damage such as a decrease in the number of new members due to the review.

Other groundless defamatory posts and posts causing damage to reputation, etc.

On the Marriage Activity Salon Compass, there may be reviews posted that go beyond the scope of satisfaction with the marriage consultation office and amount to defamation or damage to reputation against a specific marriage consultation office or its staff. Such reviews should be deleted, just like defamatory posts and posts causing damage to reputation on anonymous bulletin boards like 5channel (formerly 2channel). The method for requesting deletion of posts on 5channel (formerly 2channel) is explained in detail in the article below.

https://monolith.law/reputation/deletionrequest-for-2chand5ch[ja]

How to Report Violations of the Terms of Use at Marriage Activity Salon Compass

If you come across posts that seem to be defamatory, identifying individuals without basis in fact, you can report them via our contact form. The contact form can be found at the bottom of the “Commitment to Review Reliability” page on the Marriage Activity Salon Compass website. Please refer to the image below.

When you click on the contact form button shown in the image above, a Google form will appear where you can fill in and submit your inquiry.

The prohibited actions under Article 8 of the Terms of Use for Marriage Activity Salon Compass are as follows:

According to these terms of use, reviews such as “Staff A was very rude. Apparently, they’ve been divorced three times” can be reported as they are considered to be “actions that infringe or are likely to infringe on the privacy of a third party”.

Examples of Removal Requests Based on Illegality

When considering Article 8 of the Terms of Use, which refers to “acts that infringe or may infringe on the rights of our company, members providing services to our company, third parties, or others’ property, privacy, reputation, or portrait rights,” it is necessary to consider defamation (infringement of reputation rights). The requirements for defamation are as follows:

• Publicly
• Pointing out facts
• Defaming someone’s reputation

For example, if a review is posted stating, “There were many additional charges that were not explained at the time of membership, and the fees were much higher than expected,” then:

• The statement “There were many additional charges that were not explained at the time of membership, and the fees were much higher than expected” has a specific meaning,
• The act of charging additional fees without proper explanation at the time of membership is subject to certain legal regulations, and being perceived as a marriage consultation office that engages in such behavior is disadvantageous for the said office,
• The said marriage consultation office provides proper explanation about additional charges at the time of membership

These would be the arguments. However, please note that even if the case meets the requirements for defamation, defamation does not occur if the following conditions are met:

• There is public interest
• There is public benefit
• It is true or the truthfulness is recognized

Not only the above example, but also other slanderous reviews and rumor damage reviews need to be examined for defamation. However, removal negotiations based on such claims and legal arguments can be difficult without a detailed understanding of the law. Consulting with a lawyer with extensive knowledge can often lead to smooth removal. For more details on the requirements for defamation, please refer to the article below.

https://monolith.law/reputation/defamation[ja]

Removal by Provisional Disposition

If a review is not removed after reporting it through our contact form, we will proceed with a removal request through the court. Reviews of the matchmaking salon Compass can be removed not only through litigation but also through a process called provisional disposition. Even if litigation proceeds smoothly, it often takes about 3-12 months, and there is a possibility that it may take more than a year. On the other hand, if you consult with a lawyer who is familiar with reputational damage, provisional disposition can often be completed in about 2-3 months from the request to removal. The flow of provisional disposition is as follows:

• Application for provisional disposition
• Examination (a procedure similar to oral argument)
• Payment of security deposit
• Issuance of provisional disposition order
• Execution

In the case of provisional disposition, not only legal claims but also evidence to support those claims is required. For example, in the case where it is written that “There were many additional fees that were not explained at the time of enrollment, and the fees were much higher than expected,” you would submit as evidence:

• The fee plan explanation document for the customer in question
• The customer’s membership consent form
• The manual for customer enrollment

And argue that “The matchmaking agency in question provided an appropriate explanation about the fee plan at the time of enrollment, and did not engage in actions such as charging additional fees without explanation.” However, making such claims and proving them may be quite difficult without the help of a lawyer. For more details on removal by provisional disposition, please refer to the article below.

https://monolith.law/reputation/provisional-disposition[ja]

Identifying the Poster through Provisional Disposition

If a large number of reviews that cause defamation or reputational damage have been posted over a long period of time, you can request a lawyer to make a request for disclosure of sender information. The request for disclosure of sender information is a procedure based on Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Japanese Provider Liability Limitation Act. This procedure requests the disclosure of information such as the IP address, name, and address of the poster of defamatory reviews or reviews causing reputational damage.
Reviews of the matchmaking salon Compass are published after preliminary screening by the management office, so there may not be many, but it cannot be denied that there may be cases where someone who holds a grudge against a specific marriage consultation office posts a review that amounts to baseless rumors or defamation. In such cases, if you know the poster’s IP address, you can identify the poster. The procedure for identifying the sender is as follows.

Request for Information Disclosure to Content Service Provider

• Application for provisional disposition for disclosure of sender information
• Identify the transit provider
• Application for provisional disposition to prohibit deletion of sender information to the transit provider
• Lawsuit for request for disclosure of sender information
• Identify the sender based on the court’s judgment

After going through the above procedures, if you can identify the poster, you can claim damages from the poster for the attorney’s fees and consolation money required to identify the poster. For more details on the request for disclosure of sender information, please refer to the following article.

https://monolith.law/reputation/disclosure-of-the-senders-information[ja]

Summary

While the marriage matchmaking salon Compass is a convenient site where you can search for marriage consultation offices and request materials, it cannot be definitively stated that there is no possibility of defamatory or reputation-damaging reviews being posted due to misunderstandings or malice. In the face of such malicious posts, it may be advisable to report them via the inquiry form, or if they are not removed, to request their deletion or the identification of the poster through the courts. It is challenging to make legal claims such as defamation on your own without the assistance of a lawyer. If you are troubled by defamatory reviews or reputation-damaging reviews, it is important to consult with a lawyer who has extensive expertise.