Privacy policy
How Machibanashi (“the site”) handles information about its readers.
Scope
This policy applies to the site at https://machibanashi.jp (including the English edition at https://machibanashi.jp/en/), run by Owlsoft (“we”, “us”). Other sites we link to have their own policies. The Japanese version of this policy (プライバシーポリシー) is the authoritative text; if the two differ, the Japanese version applies.
What we collect
Analytics (Google Analytics)
We use Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-PZ6BNCXW71), a service of Google LLC. It uses cookies to collect information such as the pages you view, how long you stay, where you came from, your approximate region and the type of browser and device you use. This information is not provided to us in a form that identifies you.
Advertising (Google AdSense)
We use Google AdSense, a third-party advertising service. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this site and to other websites.
Error report form
When you use “Report an error” at the end of an article, we store the following in our database (hosted on Cloudflare):
- The ID of the story, the type of report (factually wrong, out of date, typo, other) and what you wrote (up to 500 characters)
- Which article and language edition the report came from
- A random identifier generated in your browser (kept in your browser's localStorage; it is not linked to your name or device details)
- When the report was received
Contact form
When you send a message through our contact form, we store the following in the same database:
- The topic, your message, the language edition and when it was received
- Your name and reply email address, only if you enter them
- A one-time random identifier created for each message (not stored in your browser)
Neither form stores your IP address or browser details in our database. Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) may briefly process connection records to protect the site against abuse and to handle outages. Please do not enter more personal information than you need to.
Why we use it
- To check and correct mistakes in our articles
- To respond to your messages (including replying, if you gave a reply address)
- To understand how the site is used and improve it
- To show advertising
- To protect the site against spam and attacks
Third-party services
| Service | Used for | Provider's policy |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics | Analytics | How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services |
| Google AdSense | Advertising | Advertising – Privacy & Terms – Google |
| Cloudflare | Hosting the site; storing form submissions | Cloudflare Privacy Policy |
Turning off cookies and personalized ads
- You can turn off personalized advertising from Google in Google's Ads Settings.
- You can opt out of personalized advertising from other third-party vendors that use cookies at aboutads.info.
- You can stop Google Analytics from collecting data with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
- You can also block cookies in your browser settings. You can still read the articles, though the ads you see may change.
Sharing with others
We do not give what you send through our forms to anyone else without your consent, except where required by law. The services listed above receive information only as far as they need it to provide their functions.
How long we keep it
- Error reports and contact messages are kept for up to one year so we can check and respond to them, and deleted after that.
- Information collected by Google Analytics and Google AdSense is kept for the periods Google sets and under our Analytics data-retention setting.
To ask us to delete something you sent, use the contact form and tell us roughly when you sent it and what it said.
Disclaimer
- Our articles are based on sources, but we cannot guarantee that they are accurate, complete or up to date. Please check official information before you go.
- We are not liable for any loss arising from use of the information on this site.
- We are not responsible for the content of external sites we link to.
- The text of our articles is our copyright; photos belong to their photographers. Please do not republish beyond fair quotation.
Changes to this policy
We may revise this policy when laws or our services change. Revisions apply from the time they are posted on this page.
Contact
For questions about this policy, please use our contact form.
Run by: Owlsoft
Effective and last revised: October 15, 2026