Submission guidelines

1. Contributor

① In principle, the contributor is required to be a member of the JSIHC. If not a member, they cannot be the first author.

② The contributing member must have paid the annual membership fee for the respective year.

2. The Submitted research paper

① The submitted research paper should preferably have the themes aligned with the objectives of the JSIHO, and should be unpublished paper written in either English or Swedish.

3. Types of submitted research paper

① The papers are classified into peer-reviewed papers (hereinafter referred to as reviewed papers) and free papers (hereinafter referred to as papers).

4. Format for research papers

① Manuscripts for research papers should be created in landscape oriantation using Word.

② Japanese papers should be written within 24,000 characters (approximately 17 pages on A4, 40×35), and for English papers, corresponding amount is acceptable, including main text, footnotes, figures, tables, acknowledgements, references, 

③ Margins should be set at 30mm on the left and right, 35mm at the top and 30mm at the bottom.

④ The first page should include the title (in Japanese and English), affiliation, and name (in Japanese and Romanization).

⑤ For reviewed papers, include the English abstract of up to 200 words.

5. Footnotes, figures, tables, acknowledgements and references

① Footnotes should be written at the bottom of the respective page, distinguishing them from the main text.

② Figures (Fig.) and tables (Table) should be inserted directly into the main text with consecutive numbering. For example: Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Table 1, Table 2.

③ Acknowledgements should be listed at the bottom of the first page as footnotes, or placed at the end of the main text.

④ References should be listed collectively after the main text. Arrange them alphabetically by author's name. If listing multiple articles by the same author, arrange them in ascending order of the publication date.

6. Publication in the Academic journal

① The timing and order of publication in the academic journal are determined by the Academic Committee.

② Reviewed papers are determined for publication by the Academic Committee, and the type (reviewed paper, paper, contribution) is based on the results of the review and the judgement of the Reviewing Committee.

③ The classification of contributions is determined by the Academic Committee based on the applicant's request.

7. Copyright

① The copyright of the published paper belongs to the author and the JSIHC.

② When the author wishes to republish the papers in the academic journal for other publications, prior approval from the institute is required. 

8. Reviewing Committee

① The Reviewing Committee selects and determines the reviewers through independent or joint efforts with the General Affairs Committee, and carries out a series of duties related to the reviewing process.

② The Reviewing Committee reports the selected reviewers to the Institute Secretariat.

9. Reviewers

① The reviewers are generally anonymous, except for reports to the Reviewing Committee and the Institute Secretariat.

② Information that might identify the author, such as affiliation of the contributor is generally kept anonymous when communicating with the reviewrs.

10. Process from submission to publication of reviewed papers (also applies to free papers)

(1) Those wishing to submit a paper apply to the Institute Secretariat through email, expressing their intention to submit. They then send the paper following the instructions given by the Secretariat.

(2) The Institute Secretariat promptly notifies the submitter of the acceptance of the paper.

(3) The Institute Secretariat promptly submits the paper to the Reviewing Committee, ensuring the anonymity of the submitter, including their name and affiliation.

(4) The Reviewing Committee, either independantly or in collaboration with the General Affairs Committee, selects the reviewers in accordance with the field and domain of the submitted paper and requests a review.

(5) Reviewers promptly report the results back to the Reviewing Committee upon completing the reviewing process.

① Approved for publication as a reviewed paper

② Approved for publication as a reviewed paper after minor revisions

③ Approved for publication as a free paper after minor revisions

④ Approved for publication as a contribution (research notes, etc.)

⑤ Rejected for publication

(6) The Reviewing Committee respects the judgement of the reviewers, and promptly reports the results to the Institute Secretariat.

(7) The Institute Secretariat promptly notifies the submitter of the reviewed results.

(8) After receiving communications from the Institute Secretariat, the submitter within a month, revises and suppliments the paper following the "4. Format for research papers" and submits it in electronic format or on FD along with a hard copy.

(9) The Institute Secretariat endeavors to complete the entire reviewing process, from the acceptance of the submitted paper to notifying the submitter of the decision regarding publication in the academic journal, within two months.

(10) Submitters may, within 14 days after receiving communications from the Institute Secretariat regarding the decision to publish or not in the academic journal, submitt written inquiries to the Secretariat about the results of the decision.

11. Ethical considerations and Conflicts of Interest regarding research subjects, as well as appropriate ethical considerations and privacy measures should be taken regarding medical research involving human subjects. It should be explicitly stated that the research plan has undergone an ethical evaluation by the Research Ethics Committee of the relevant research institution. If the organization do not have an Ethics Committee, explicit mention is not required, but compliance with the ethical considerations provided by the Institute should be confirmed during the hearing. Additionally, authors are responsible for disclosing any Conflicts of Interest (COI) with specific organizations. 

12. Special Notes

① The Institute Secretariat and the Academic Committee can independently decide whether to publish the paper in the academic journal or not, regardless of the Reviewing Committee's judgement, if there are submitted papers for which the reveiwing results have not been reported by the Reviewing Committee even after a reasonable deadline, or if there are issues such as the Reviewing Committee withholding the results.

② The Academic Committee can request the submitters to correct, or to change the format, notation methods, expressive methods etc., of the paper at any time based on the ethical and societal considerations.

③ In general, the submissions are accepted at any time.

④ Manuscripts, FDs, etc., of submitted papers are generally not returned.

⑤ The academic journal is published at least once a year. This regulation is effective from October 1, 2018.