Japanese Society and Culture
Instruction for Authors
JSC is an interdisciplinary journal that covers analysis of Japan in law, business, economics, sociology and so on. Each research field has its own rules for citation and other aspects, so JSC do not strictly standardize the format. Therefore, submitted papers may be formatted in accordance with the conventions of each research field, but please make sure to follow the basic style outlined below as much as possible.
Submitting Manuscript
All manuscripts must include the author’s name and title and must be double-spaced with 42 lines per page. They must be written in Times New Roman with 10.5 as the font size. This format applies to the entire body of text, including quotations and footnotes. The word count must not exceed 10,000 words, including footnotes, which should be complete and formatted as per The Chicago Manual of Style or The Bluebook guidelines. In some cases, however, when the paper contains many figures and tables, some excess of the word limit is permitted. Please include an abstract of no more than 250 words along with 5 keywords. Submissions should be sent via the JSC website. JSC currently uses Microsoft Word, and all submissions should be made in the MS Word format.
Writing and File Formatting
We ask you to provide editable source files for your entire submission (including figures, tables, and text graphics). Save files in an editable format, using the extension .doc/.docx for Word files. A PDF is not an acceptable source file. Layout text in a single-column format. Remove any strikethrough and underlined text from your manuscript unless it has scientific significance related to your article. Use spell-check and grammar-check functions to avoid errors.
Title Page
You are required to include the following details on the title page:
- Article title: Article titles should be concise and informative. Please avoid abbreviations and formulae, where possible, unless they are established and widely understood.
- Author names:Provide the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author. The order of authors should match the order in the submission system. Carefully check that all names are accurately spelled..
- Affiliations:Add affiliation addresses, referring to where the work was carried out, below the author names.
- Corresponding author:Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence for your article at all stages of the refereeing and publication process and also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about your results, data, methodology and materials. It is important that the email address and contact details of your corresponding author are kept up to date during the submission and publication process.
Abstract
You are required to provide a concise and factual abstract which does not exceed 250 words. The abstract should briefly state the purpose of your research, principal results and major conclusions. Some guidelines::
- Abstracts must be able to stand alone as abstracts are often presented separately from the article.
- Avoid references. If any are essential to include, ensure that you cite the author(s) and year(s).
- Avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations. If any are essential to include, ensure they are defined within your abstract at first mention.
Keywords
You are required to provide 5 keywords for indexing purposes. Keywords should be written in English. Please try to avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using "and" or "of"). We recommend that you only use abbreviations in keywords if they are firmly established in the field.
Tables
Tables must be submitted as editable text, not as images. If you have attached an image in your manuscript, please submit an editable image as a separate file. Place tables next to the relevant text or on a separate page(s) at the end of your article. Cite all tables in the manuscript text. Number tables consecutively according to their appearance in the text. Please provide captions along with the tables. Place any table notes below the table body.
Figures, Images, and Artwork
Figures, images, artwork, diagrams and other graphical media must be supplied as separate files along with the manuscript.
Artwork formats
Please do not submit: files that are too low in resolution (for example, files optimized for screen use such as GIF, BMP, PICT or WPG files) Disproportionally large images compared to font size, as text may become unreadable.
Figure captions
All images must have a caption. A caption should consist of a brief title (not displayed on the figure itself) and a description of the image. We advise you to keep the amount of text in any image to a minimum, though any symbols and abbreviations used should be explained.
Color artwork
If you submit usable color figures with your accepted article, we will ensure that they appear in color online. Please ensure that color images are accessible to all, including those with impaired color vision. The hard copy of JSC will only be printed in black and white.
Supplementary Material
We encourage the use of supplementary materials such as applications, images and sound clips to enhance research. Supplementary material should be accurate and relevant to the research. Cite all supplementary files in the manuscript text. Submit supplementary materials at the same time as your article.
Article Structure
Article sections
Divide your manuscript into clearly defined sections with headings, covering all essential elements.
Acknowledgements
Include any individuals who provided you with help during your research, such as help with language, writing or proof reading, in the acknowledgements section. Acknowledgements should be placed in a separate section which appears directly before the reference list. Do not include acknowledgements on your title page, as a footnote to your title, or anywhere else in your article other than in the separate acknowledgements section.
Author Contributions: CRediT
Corresponding authors are required to acknowledge co-author contributions using CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) roles: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing, Not all CRediT roles will apply to every manuscript and some authors may contribute through multiple roles.
Notes
JSC is an interdisciplinary academic journal, and its note formats respect the conventions of each academic field. As long as the note format is consistent within each article, the format is not restricted, whether it's a footnote or an endnote.
References
We recommend including a list of references at the end of each article. However, including references (author name, publication year, title, page number) in footnotes or endnotes is also common practice in some academic fields and is not specifically prohibited.
Any references cited within your article should also be present in your reference list and vice versa. References cited in your abstract must be given in full. We recommend that you do not include unpublished results and personal communications in your reference list, though you may mention them in the text of your article. Any unpublished results and personal communications included in your reference list must follow the standard reference style of the journal. In substitution of the publication date add "unpublished results" or "personal communication." References cited as "in press" imply that the item has been accepted for publication. Before submission, check that all data provided in your reference list are correct, including any references which have been copied.
Reference Format
JSC does not set strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. Since JSC is an interdisciplinary journal, the journal does not require reference formatting at submission unless references and citations follow the conventions of each research field. In general, JSC recommends The Chicago Manual of Style or The Bluebook guidelines. Here are conventional guidelines of reference: References can be in any style or format as long as the style is consistent. Author names, journal or book titles, chapter or article titles, year of publication, volume numbers, article numbers or pagination must be included, where applicable. Use of DOIs is recommended. Our journal reference style will be applied to your article after acceptance, at proof stage. If required, at this stage we will ask you to correct or supply any missing reference data.
Submit online
Our online submission system guides you through the process steps of entering your manuscript details and uploading your files. The system converts your article files to a single PDF file used in the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word) are required to typeset your article for final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by email.
Please follow this link to submit your paper.
Publishing agreement
Authors will be asked to complete a publishing agreement after acceptance. The corresponding author will receive a link to the online agreement by email. We advise you to read our policies related to copyright to learn more about our copyright policies.
Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Permission for copyrighted works
If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included in your article, you must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) within your article.
Proof correction
To ensure a fast publication process we will ask you to provide proof corrections within two weeks. Corresponding authors will be sent an email which includes a link to our online proofing system, allowing annotation and correction of proofs online. The environment is similar to Word. You can edit text, comment on figures and tables and answer questions raised by our copy editor. Our web-based proofing service ensures a faster and less error-prone process. The purpose of the proof is to check the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of your article text, tables and figures. Significant changes to your article at the proofing stage will only be considered with approval of the journal editor.
Getting help and support
We recommend that you visit our website or contact us if you have questions about the editorial process or require technical support for your submission.