FAQ

Zipan is an online business Japanese language service that helps business people around the world SUCCEED IN JAPAN by teaching effective communication strategies and Japanese business culture.

You will gain the communication skills you need to succeed in Japan through our learning cycle with 1.Original materials, 2.Video Lessons and 3.Online Lessons.

Zipan is designed to improve the Japanese skills of students of all levels. No matter if you're a complete beginner or an advanced speaker, Zipan has something for you.

Yes. At Zipan, our Starter course includes both English translations and Roma-ji to ensure that even beginners will be able to get the most out of our program and lessons.

You can take lessons from anywhere as long as you are able to connect to Skype.
Please be aware of your local time zone and adjust accordingly.

Yes, you can take a free trial lesson to see if our service is right for you.

No. Unfortunately, you are only able to take the trial lesson once.

No. The only person that should be active on your student account is the account holder.

Lessons will be available every day with the exception of certain Japanese national holidays. Members will be notified of these dates in advance.

Lessons are available from 5:00 to 25:00 every day ( Last lesson starts at 24:30 )

＊Lessons will be available every day with the exception of certain Japanese national holidays.

In order to ensure your lesson goes smoothly, please prepare the following:
1. PC / Laptop / Tablet / Smartphone
2. Stable internet connection
3. Skype
4. A headset
5. Webcam (optional)

In order to deliver consistent, high-quality lessons, a 5-step process called the Zipan Learning Method is used to ensure that all of our trainers are able to help our students progress through the material while still providing a personalized experience.

Step 1: Warm up
・Greetings & Introductions
・Review the previous lesson

Step 2: See
・Confirm lesson goals and objectives
・Read and study model dialogues and examples

Step 3: Try
・Practice output and speaking
・Receive feedback and corrections

Step 4: Act
・Conduct a personalized roleplay and put what you learned into use

Step 5: Wrap up
・Receive final feedback and advice

Yes. However, depending on the quality of the internet connection, the video quality may vary. In extreme cases, video may be disabled to prioritize sound quality.

You may still proceed with the lesson if you wish. Please contact the trainer to let them know when you are ready to begin. If this is your first lesson with a new trainer, please accept the trainer's request to be added to your contact list in order to send them a message directly.

*If your trainer does not answer your call, please push 「Emergency」 button found in HOME of My Zipan.
*Please note that the duration of your lesson will not be extended if you start your lesson late.

If your trainer is not calling you, please confirm the following:
1: Confirm the lesson reservation time is correct



2: Please perform a TEST CALL to check your connection. (Details on how to perform a Skype TEST CALL are below)
Skype support 3: You can call the trainer with [CALL TRAINER] button on [RESERVATION STATUS] page of My Zipan.

4: If you cannot reach the trainer 5 minutes after your class has started. Please push [EMERGENCY] button found in HOME of My Zipan to report the problem. *When you push the [EMERGENCY] button, the lesson will be cancelled and you will be able to make the next reservation. If you do not/unable to book a replacement lesson on the same day, a free lesson ticket with be sent to your account at approximately 1:00am Japan time the following day.

Yes. You can make requests regarding your lesson by editing your LESSON REQUEST.

For example,
"Please correct my pronunciation"
"Please speak slowly"
etc.

The number of lesson tickets you have correlates with the number of lesson you are able to take. 1 ticket = 1 lesson.

It is the same procedure with when you make a reservation with Monthly subscription plan.
Your reservation after taking 5 lessons will be counted as with Lesson tickets.
You can confirm that the reservation is with a Lesson ticket in the [Ticket type] field on the RESERVATION STATUS.

You are able to book 5 lessons per month.

*You can book your next lesson after completing your currently reserved lesson.

You can book a lesson up to 15 minutes before its scheduled starting time. (For example, if the lesson time starts at 8:00pm, the deadline to book the 8:00 lesson slot is 7:45pm)
Please make a reservation from [RESERVE] page on My Zipan, choosing desired date, time and a trainer.
Also please choose a desired lesson type from [Zipan Program] [Other Programs] [Assist Lesson] when you make a reservation.

You can cancel your reservation from the RESERVATION STATUS in HOME of your My Zipan. If you cancel 60 minutes before your lesson starts, you will be able to make a reservation again. However, if you cancel within 60 minutes of your scheduled lesson, it will be counted as Absent, and your ticket will be consumed.

There are no penalties, however, it would be in your best interest to cancel your lesson at least 60 minutes before your lesson starts to avoid the forfeiture of your lesson ticket and the ability to reschedule the lesson.
If you would like to cancel your lesson within 60 minutes of your scheduled lesson's start, please push the Absent button.

*When you are absent from your lesson, your lesson ticket will be consumed
Please not that if you are constantly absent from your scheduled lessons, we will notify you and possibly revoke your membership.

You cannot carry over. In the next month, you can attend up to 5 times a month again.

Our trainers are all experienced business professionals with high levels of communication and teaching skills. They each possess their own unique business and personal experiences and are here to help you succeed in your business in Japan.

Some of our trainers can, but the lesson will always be conducted in Japanese.

「Zipan Program」is our standard program designed to help you gain a solid communication and cultural foundation using our original learning materials.

「Other Programs」focus on helping you enhance specific business skills using our original learning materials.

「Assist Lesson」focus on on supporting you with your immediate business tasks such as writing Japanese emails, proofreading documents, or preparing for a presentation etc.

You can choose from any of these 3 programs every time you make a reservation.

Assist lessons are provided to help you with your daily/immediate Japanese business tasks.

【Lesson example】
・Interview preparation
・Proofread documents or emails
・Discuss your work / business ideas etc
It is up to you in the Assist Lesson to tell your trainer what you need assistance with the most and they will try their best to help you with your request.

「Other Programs」focus on helping you enhance specific business skills using our original learning materials.

Our original materials and video lessons are free for members.

We do not have any programs for children.

You will be able to see the next rank's materials after you complete lesson 6. Please check the materials of the next rank from [Materials] at the bottom of the LESSON RECORDS & MATERIALS page.

No, Zipan does not use commercially available teaching materials.
We recommend you to use Zipan program that we carefully designed to help students to achieve their success in business.

Yes, we can.
Please select "Assist Lesson" at the time of your reservation. You can use Skype chat to send the text to the trainer when lesson starts.
※ Please do not send any content confidential information with your workplace to the trainer.

To stop your subscription or unsubscribe, please go to [CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION] in [My Zipan].

*CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION is a temporary suspension of your membership. You will not be charged your monthly membership but will still have access to your account and progress. You can restart your membership and lessons any time you wish and pick up from where you left off.

Please note that your lesson tickets will expired at the start of your suspension.

Go to CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION (You need to login to proceed)

Up until 2 days before the next payment date of the subscription from [About stopping your subscription or unsubscribe] in a pop up of [CONTACT US] on My Zipan.
You can take lessons until the day before the next payment date.

In addition, please note that the next payment will occur if the application was made on "the previous day" or "the day" of the monthly payment date.

Please login to My Zipan with your registered email and password.

Please select your plan from [PRICE & PAYMENT] page.

CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION means Temporary Suspension. By selecting this, you will be able to freeze your account and progress without incurring any monthly fees. If you wish to come back, you can re-start your lessons and continue from where you left off at any time you wish.

If you Unsubscribe, we will shutdown your Zipan account and your membership and progress will be removed.

IMPORTANT NOTICE : In order to manage lesson progress feedback records, there can only be ONE account per customer.

There is no limit to how long you are able to keep your account suspended with CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION. Therefore, if there is a possibility you may wish to re-start in the future, we recommend choosing this option.

If you Unsubscribe, you will lose access to our service completely and account services (receipts etc.)

Should you wish to Unsubscribe, please follow the instructions below.

【For Free Trial members or members with CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION 】
Please login to your My Zipan, click [CONTACT US] in the upper right corner and select [About stopping your subscription or unsubscribe] to proceed.

【For subscription members】
1. Please proceed with CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION first.

＜Cancellation Process＞
Please login to My Zipan click [CONTACT US] in the upper right corner and select [About stopping your subscription or unsubscribe] to proceed.


2. Please contact us after your CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION has been processed.
Login to My Zipan, click [CONTACT US] in the upper right corner and select [About stopping your subscription or unsubscribe] to proceed.

You will need to connect your PC (a smartphone or tablet is also fine) to the internet and have Skype installed. To ensure you have the best experience, please also have a microphone headset and a webcam.

Yes. To ensure you have the best experience, we recommend using microphone earphones.

*For FREE TRIAL lesson users, we suggest using a PC as the trainer will contact you through SKYPE via video call and often use the chat box.

It is not necessary and you will be able to take a voice-only lesson without using a webcam on your end. That being said, our trainers will always use their webcam in order to best facilitate smooth communication during the lesson.

Yes, you can use the internal mic & speakers of your PC.
Still, we recommend to use a headset to ensure the best audio quality.

[Skype Name] (Skype ID) is an ID automatically assigned by Microsoft. It can not be changed after registration.
[Skype Display Name], on the other hand, refers to a nickname that you can change yourself.

[Skype Name] is composed of the string "live:".

・ When Microsoft account is obtained by phone number
"Live: (random string)"

・ When acquired by e-mail address
"Live: (before @ of e-mail address)"

※ For older versions of Skype, there may be some instances in which "live:" is not attached.

Please confirm your Skype name by the following.

【For PC】
Skype official site
【For Smartphone】
Your Skype name will be displayed by clicking the circle of your profile photo.

※ Confirmation procedure of the Skype name may differ depending on the device and OS.
Please check the skype official site below.
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10858/

Skype is software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice one-to-one and group calls, send instant messages and share files with other people on Skype. You can use Skype on whatever works best for you – on your mobile, computer or tablet.

Skype is free to download and call for free between Skype accounts.

Please check the URL. https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA1170/

You can pay with your credit card (Paypal).

Please proceed to [PRICE & PAYMENT] page in your My Zipan

No other fees will be charged other than the monthly fee for Zipan.

※ Zipan original learning materials and the Video Lessons are free of charge.
※ Please prepare PC equipment, internet connection, headset, web camera (optional) by yourself.

You will be able to reserving and taking lessons as soon as Paypal payment is complete.

After the second month, you will be charged automatically through Paypal.

The validity of your monthly subscription starts on your enrollment date.

Ex. If you enroll on 7/20, the first month's fee will cover your membership until 8/19. The second month's membership fee will then be charged on 8/20 and will be valid until 9/19 etc.

You can use the credit card statement or the transaction history of the bank account as a receipt. Please copy the credit card statement or the account history of the bank account with the deduction from Zipan.

[If you need an official receipt from BIZMATES]

Please prepare the below information and contact us from [CONTACT US] page in your My Zipan.

● Electronic Receipt (PDF)
・Received from: Please specify from whom the payment was received
Ex. Your name or company name
・Description: Please specify the details of the expense.
Ex. “オンライン日本語レッスン代として(For online Japanese lessons)”
・Payment date
・Paid amount

※ We cannot process the receipt without all of the above information.
※ Please note that it will take 2 - 3 business days for us to prepare and email the receipt.

Our service is not technically applicable to the cooling-off system under the Specified Commercial Transactions Law. However, to ensure the convenience of the customer, we will respond to the cancellation of the contract and will refund 90 % of the first payment ( 10 % is deducted as our handling charge), if declared within 8 days after the payment completed.

If you are taking Zipan lessons as part of your employment benefits (Benefit Station or WELBOX), kindly note that:

1. It may take 5 working days for us to receive and process your application. Once the registration is complete, you will receive a confirmation email from us with your login information and LESSON START DATE.

2. The LESSON START DATE is fixed and can no longer be changed upon registration. If you wish to start on a specific date, kindly let your company know in advance.

※The same condition applies when you renew your subscription.

Depending on your email service provider, emails from Zipan may be mistakenly classified as spam or junk mail. Please check your spam or junk folder first, and if you don't find it in there, please contact Zipan Support （support@zipan.jp）

Please confirm you are entering the correct email address and password. If you forgot your password, please request a password reissue from 「Forgot Password?」 in the login page.
In certain instances, the browser cache may affect your ability to login. You may try deleting the cache or try logging in with another browser to see if this corrects the issue.

SThere are three possible causes of poor Skype audio quality: "Connection problems", "Device problems" and "Voice device problems".
Please confirm if any of the above issues are impacting the audio.

[1] Connection problems during Skype calls
It is important to prioritize secure a stable connection over connection speed to ensure the best experience. If you are having connection issues, please confirm the following:
1. If you are using a wireless connection, please try using a wired connection.
2. If you are only able to access a wireless connection, please stay as close as possible to the access point or somewhere with good signal reception (ex. close to the window)
3. Please refrain from taking lessons while walking, on a train, or in a car as it could impact the stability of your connection.

[2] PC and device trouble
If you are experiencing trouble while using Skype on your PC, tablet, and/or smartphone. Please confirm the following:
1. There may be a heavy load on your device if there are many applications running. Please close any unnecessary applications while taking your lesson.
2. If things are still not improving, please change to Skype Voice call instead of video.

[3] Trouble with audio devices (microphones and speakers)
If you are unable to properly detect audio input and output while using Skype's Voice Test Service, your audio devices may not be functioning properly. Please check the following:
1. Make sure your headset is functioning properly and connected to the right port.
2. Make sure the volume is up and not on mute.

If the problems persists and you are unable to continue the lesson even after confirming the above, please contact us from the [EMERGENCY] button displayed in the Lesson Reservation Status on the [HOME] page.

Once the trainer has sent you a contact request through Skype, you will be also notified by email. At the same time, a [The trainer has sent you a Skype message] notification will appear in the 「RESERVATION STATUS」on the [HOME] page.
If you have not received your Skype contact request even after these notifications, please restart Skype.

If you have not received a contact request after restarting Skype, please contact the trainer directly from [No Skype contact request].

1. Please confirm that your status is set to "Online". Also, please confirm that you are able to perform a "Echo / Sound Test / Test Call" via Skype.

* Please refer to Skype support on instructions regarding how to perform a "Echo / Sound Test / Test Call"
Skype support

2. When the lesson start time has passed, a [Call Trainer] button will be displayed on [RESERVATION STATUS].
Please call the trainer directly by clicking this button.

3. 【If you cannot call the trainer directly and 5 minutes has passed from the lesson start time】
Please inform us of the situation from the [ENERGENCY] button on the [HOME] page of My Zipan.

※ If you contact us through the [EMERGENCY] button, we will consider the booked lesson as canceled and you will be able to rebook another lesson.
If you did not rebook or take a lesson on the day of the cancellation, we will send you 1 lesson ticket at around 1:00 am the next day.

If you could not take a lesson due to individual troubles caused by the trainer (connection failure or bad health etc.), please inform us of the situation from the [EMERGENCY] button on the “HOME” page of My Zipan.
We will treat the booked lesson as canceled and you will be able to rebook another lesson.

1. First, please try the following.
・Restart Skype and login again
・Confirm that you are not experiencing technical/connection issues

2. Check the Skype Name of the trainer by clicking [No Skype contact request] button and contact the trainer from your end via Skype.