Terms of Service

Last updated: 1 October 2026 (version 1.0)

These terms apply when you order an On-Site Vehicle Viewing or a Remote Check from us. Please read them before you pay. If anything is unclear, email us at [email protected] before you order.

If we provide a translation of these terms, the English version is the binding one.

1. Who we are

Ninja Desk Japan is a business run by Yoshiaki Sagara, a sole trader based in Kuwana, Mie, Japan.

Email: [email protected]
Our full postal address and phone number are available on request.
We work by email, in English and Japanese. We're in Japan Standard Time (UTC+9).

In these terms, "we", "us" and "our" mean Ninja Desk Japan. "You" means the person or business that orders from us.

2. Words we use

Business customer: you order for the purposes of your trade or business — for example, as an importer, broker, dealer or exporter.
Consumer: you're an individual ordering for your own use, not for a trade or business.
Business day: Monday to Friday, except Japanese public holidays, in Japan Standard Time.
Report: the written report in English, with the photos, videos and translated documents we send you for an order.
Order confirmation: the email in which we confirm the car, the dealer, the service, the date and the price for your order.

3. What we provide

3.1 On-Site Vehicle Viewing

We visit the dealer where the car is for sale, with the dealer's permission, and record what we can see and hear on the day. For one car at one dealer, the viewing includes:

up to 90 minutes at the dealer
at least 40 photos, and short videos
up to five of your questions, asked to the dealer in Japanese
a written report in English within 2 business days of the visit
one round of follow-up questions about the report

3.2 Remote Check

We don't visit or see the car. For one car at one dealer, we:

phone the dealer in Japanese and ask about the car
ask up to five of your questions
ask the dealer for extra photos or video
translate the documents the dealer sends us
send you a written report in English within 2 business days of the dealer's answers

Everything in a Remote Check comes from the dealer, so we mark it as Reported. Every Remote Check report ends with a list of what photos and phone calls can't show for that car.

3.3 Your order

The car, the dealer, the service, the date and the price for each order are set out in our quote and order confirmation.

3.4 Where we work

On-Site Vehicle Viewings: mainly the Tokai region (Aichi, Gifu and Mie), and elsewhere in Japan on request. Travel is charged by distance, as set out in section 7.
Remote Checks: dealers anywhere in Japan.

3.5 The cars we look at

We focus on Japanese cars. We don't take on exotic supercars from non-Japanese makers. For other imported cars, ask us — we decide case by case.

4. What we don't do

Our service is a careful visual record, not a mechanical check. So that there are no surprises:

This is not a mechanical inspection. We don't lift the car, connect diagnostic equipment, remove parts or test drive.
We don't tell you whether to buy. We tell you what we saw, what the dealer said and what we couldn't check. The decision is yours.
We don't certify accident or repair history. We photograph the signs we can see. We don't say a car has, or hasn't, been in an accident or repaired.
We don't guarantee mileage, future reliability, or whether the car can be registered or used legally in your country.
We don't judge modifications. Aftermarket parts may appear in our photos, but we don't identify them, and we don't judge whether they're genuine, their quality, or whether they're legal in your country.
We don't go to auction houses.
We don't buy, sell or ship cars, we don't negotiate the price, and we never hold money for a car.
We don't take commissions from dealers or exporters.
We don't operate the car. The dealer's staff start and move it. We can't tell whether the engine had already been warmed up before we arrived.

5. Requests we don't accept

We only look at cars. We don't accept requests to:

check on a person or a company — for example, where someone lives or works, whether a business really exists at an address, whether it's still trading, or whether someone can be trusted
film or photograph without permission, film secretly, or watch or follow anyone
view cars at auction houses
view exotic supercars from non-Japanese makers

We may decline any request before we've sent you an order confirmation, and we don't take orders from every country. If we decline, we release any hold and you pay nothing.

6. How an order works

You send us the listing link, your country, what worries you about the car, your questions, and when you need the report.
We send you a quote: the price, any travel cost and the earliest date we can go.
For a viewing, we contact the dealer in Japanese to confirm that the car is still for sale and that they're happy for us to visit.
We send you a link to a Stripe payment page. You tick the box to agree to these terms, enter your card details yourself, and a hold is placed on your card. Nothing is charged yet.
We email you an order confirmation. Our contract with you starts when the hold is in place and we've sent the order confirmation. (Business customers paying by bank transfer: please confirm by email that you accept these terms. Our contract starts when we've received that email and sent the order confirmation.)
We visit, or call the dealer, as described in section 3.
We take the payment after the visit, or for a Remote Check, when we send the report. You get the report within 2 business days.

7. Prices

	Price
On-Site Vehicle Viewing (one car, one dealer)	¥55,000
Travel up to 40 km by road from Kuwana Station, each way (Nagoya Station is about 27 km)	¥5,000 flat
Travel further away	¥110 per km of the round trip, by the driving route on Google Maps from Kuwana Station. This covers motorway tolls, fuel, the car and travel time, whether we go by car or train. We quote before you pay.
Weekends and Japanese public holidays	+30% of the viewing fee
Visit within 3 business days of booking (when we can fit it in)	+30% of the viewing fee
Remote Check (one car, one dealer)	¥20,000

Remote Check first? If you book an On-Site Vehicle Viewing of the same car within 14 days of the date we send you the Remote Check report, we deduct the ¥20,000 from the viewing price.
Quotes are valid for 7 days from the date we send them.
Prices are in Japanese yen. If your card is in another currency, your card issuer converts the amount and may charge its own fee.
Tax. Prices don't include Japanese consumption tax where it applies. We confirm this in your quote.
If both surcharges apply, we add 60% of the viewing fee.
We never charge more than your quote. Travel is charged by distance, so it's the same whether we go by car or train.

8. Payment

Card payments go through Stripe, our payment provider. You enter your card details yourself on Stripe's secure page. We never see or store your full card number. Please never email us your card details.
When you order, we place a hold on your card for the amount in your quote. A hold is not a charge.
We take the payment: - for an On-Site Vehicle Viewing, after the visit - for a Remote Check, when we send the report
If we release a hold, you pay nothing. Some banks take a few days to remove a released hold from your statement.
Holds last a limited time, set by the card companies, and it's shorter for some cards. To avoid this, we usually send the payment link no more than 7 days before the visit. If a hold would still run out before the visit, we'll send you a new payment link.
Business customers can also pay by bank transfer. We send the invoice after the visit (or, for a Remote Check, with the report). After a few orders, we can move you to one invoice a month. Invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date. You pay any bank transfer fees.
We never handle money for the car. We'll never ask you to pay a deposit or the price of a car through us. If someone claiming to be from Ninja Desk Japan asks you for money for a car, don't pay, and tell us.
If you have a problem with a charge, please tell us first so we can put it right. This doesn't affect your rights with your card issuer.

9. At the dealer

We visit openly, with the dealer's permission. We tell the dealer we're acting for an overseas buyer. We never pretend to be you.
We only give the dealer your name or contact details if you ask us to.
We follow the dealer's rules on their premises. If the dealer doesn't let us see or do something — for example, open the bonnet (hood) or start the engine — we mark it as Not verified in the report and say why.

10. The report

Every item in the report is marked as one of four things:

	What it means
Observed	We saw it ourselves
Reported	The dealer told us. We don't turn the dealer's words into facts, and we don't check whether they're true.
Not verified	We couldn't check it, and we say why
Not applicable	It doesn't apply to this car

The report records what we could see and hear on the date and at the time of the visit (or, for a Remote Check, what the dealer told us and sent us). A car's condition can change after that.
We hide personal details before we send the report: people, other cars' number plates, name badges, and personal details in documents, such as a previous owner's name and address. We refer to dealer staff by their role, not by name.
We send the report by download link. Download links stop working after 30 days. Ask us if you need the files again.
We keep your report, and the photos and videos it relies on, for 5 years from the date of the report, so we can show what we saw if a question comes up later. We keep other original photos and videos from a viewing for 1 year. Our Privacy Policy explains this in full.

11. Your part

Please give us accurate information about the car, the listing and what you need.
You decide whether to buy. Our report is one of the things you can use to decide.
We recommend that you also have the car checked by a mechanic or other qualified professional before you buy, where you can.
You're responsible for checking the rules for importing, registering and using the car in your country.
Your purchase is between you and the dealer or exporter. We're not a party to it.
Please don't use our name or our report to publicly advertise a car for sale (for example, in a listing).

You can share the report with people who help you decide, such as your mechanic, family, shipping agent or lender.
Importers and brokers can forward the report to their client as it is. Please forward it in full, including the notes at the end, and don't change it.
Anyone who reads a report that was shared or forwarded reads it with the same scope and limits as you do (sections 4, 10 and 14).
We keep the copyright in our reports, photos and videos. You can use them as this section describes.

13. Cancellations and refunds

Our Cancellation & Refund Policy explains what happens if you cancel, if the car is sold, if the dealer says no, if the weather stops us, or if we get something wrong. It forms part of these terms.

14. Our responsibility to you

We'll carry out the service with reasonable care and skill, and as set out in these terms and your order confirmation.
If we get something wrong — for example, we arrive late, look at the wrong car or miss a photo we promised — our Cancellation & Refund Policy explains how we'll put it right.
Where we cause a loss through negligence (carelessness), and only then: - (a) our total liability to you for an order is limited to the price of that order as set out in your quote, whether or not we've taken the payment; and - (b) we're not liable for the price of the car, shipping, import duties or taxes, registration costs or repair costs.

This section 14.3 does not apply where we act intentionally or with gross negligence (serious carelessness). 4. Our liability is not limited by these terms where: - we act intentionally or with gross negligence - we cause death or personal injury through negligence - we act fraudulently - the law that protects you as a consumer doesn't allow the limit 5. Section 14.3 applies in the same way to business customers.

15. Your legal rights

If you're a consumer, the law of the country where you live may give you rights that an agreement can't take away. Nothing in these terms limits those rights. If any part of these terms conflicts with them, those rights apply.

16. Things outside anyone's control

If bad weather, the dealer being closed, trains or roads being stopped, illness or anything else outside our reasonable control stops us from visiting or completing your order, we'll tell you as soon as we can. We'll either agree a new date with you, or cancel the order. If we cancel, we release the hold and you pay nothing. See the Cancellation & Refund Policy.

17. Your personal information

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect your personal information.

18. Questions and complaints

If you have a question or complaint about an order or a report, email us at [email protected]. We reply within 2 business days and will try to put things right. You can also use any complaint or dispute resolution service available where you live.

19. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. Your order is covered by the version in force when our contract with you started (see section 6, step 5). The date and version number are at the top of this page.

20. Law and courts

Japanese law governs these terms and any order.
Business customers: any dispute will be decided only by the Tsu District Court in Japan, as the court of first instance.
Consumers: you can bring a claim in the courts of Japan. Nothing in these terms takes away your right to bring a claim in the courts where you live, if the law there allows it. Choosing Japanese law doesn't take away the protections described in section 15.

21. Other things

If a court decides that part of these terms is invalid, the rest still applies.
These terms, our quote and your order confirmation together make up our agreement for your order.
If we provide a translation of these terms, the English version is the binding one.