electronic journal of
contemporary japanese studies

Information for Authors

Below are some brief guidelines for anyone interested in submitting their work for publication in ejcjs. If you are intending to submit a contribution to our journal we recommend that you download and pay close attention to our checklist for authors. Please click on the links here to read about how to submit your work to ejcjs.

Please note the following general issues:

• 1. All material for consideration must be original, by the author(s) of record, and must not be in print in other venues (translations of existing material must demonstrate permission from rights holders).
• 2. Any illustrations, photographs, charts, figures, tables, etc., must also demonstrate permission of applicable rights holders.
• 3. Copyright and all relevant responsibilities and liabilities remain with the author(s) of submissions.
• 4. Academic integrity is the foundation upon which all scholarship stands. We insist upon and will vigorously defend academic integrity.

• Peer Reviewed Articles
• Discussion papers, essays, creative writing, photography, and art
• Book and film reviews, notices, resource information, and web links
• Joining our team

Peer Reviewed Articles

The electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies will consider for publication academic articles in all fields related to the study of contemporary Japan. However, we especially welcome those articles that are able to locate Japan within a wider context. Submissions from graduate students, young academics, or those who are at the beginning of their academic career are very much appreciated. We would like to emphasise here that, because this journal is available without restriction to anyone with access to the internet, contributors can be sure that, by publishing their work in this way they will have a truly global audience.

All articles published as academic research are subject to a process of double blind peer review. Each article will be refereed by at least two scholars and the identities of the reviewers and authors are unknown to each other throughout the review process.

Since our editors work as volunteers for free, we would request that authors submit articles ready for publication. As well as adhering to our checklist for authors, authors are strongly encouraged to adhere to the following general guidelines.

1. Articles must be in good English, be properly annotated and referenced, and notes must be listed as endnotes. For ease of reading and uploading, please use as few endnotes as possible.
2. We strongly advise you to use the Harvard referencing system. An excellent guide for using the system has been developed by Matt Holland at Bournemouth University and can be found here. Other systems are acceptable where absolutely necessary, but authors are advised that consistency be maintained throughout.
3. There are no limits as to the length of articles. However, ideally, we would like authors to try to keep their submissions to less than 10,000 words per article (including notes, references, appendices, and so on).
4. If pictures and graphics are included we would request contributors to submit each image as a jpeg or gif attachment, in the highest resolution as possible.
5. Authors should send their submissions to the editor as an e-mail attachment, preferably as a Microsoft Word document. If this method is unsatisfactory then please get in touch with the editor by e-mail to negotiate an alternative.
6. In order to prevent confusion with junk e-mail, please write 'article for submission to ejcjs' in the subject header of your e-mail.
7. Please inform us in the main text of your e-mail that you wish to submit your submission as a peer reviewed article.
8. Please also include the following information in the main body of your e-mail.
   1. a 150 word abstract.
   2. some biographical information.
   3. a list of key words and phrases.
9. ejcjs will endeavour as much as possible to return reviews to authors within three months of first submission and, subject to reviewer comments, to publish articles within one month of submission of the corrected and final version.
10. ejcjs reserves the right to reject any article deemed unsuitable for publication.

Discussion Papers, Essays, Creative Writing, Photography, and Art

We welcome discussion papers, scholarly essays and opinion pieces on all topics related to contemporary Japan. We especially welcome papers that will challenge readers to engage in intelligent and lively discussion. In addition, we heartily encourage submissions written in a more literary style, as well as poetry, photography and photographic essays, and art.

Written submissions must be sent as an e-mail attachment to the editor. Please write "submission to ejcjs" in the subject header of your e-mail and indicate in the main body of your e-mail that you wish to submit your work as a discussion paper. Please submit images as jpeg attachments and try to keep each image to no more than 250kb of memory. We will notify you within 2 months if your submission will be included. As with academic articles, there are no word limits, though we encourage authors ideally to keep papers and essays to within 7,000 words. Submissions must be in good English and be ready for publication. We strongly advise you to use the Harvard referencing system. An excellent guide for using the system has been developed by Matt Holland at Bournemouth University and can be found here. Other systems are acceptable where absolutely necessary, but authors are advised that consistency be maintained throughout.

Book and Film Reviews, Notices, Resource Information and Web Links

We also warmly appreciate contributions to our review and resource sites. Please send these to the relevant review and resource editor whose contact details you will find on the appropriate page. These contain reviews and information on both web-based and non-web-based resources.

1. To submit a book review or to enquire about publications for review, please send an e-mail to the Book Reviews Editor.
2. To submit a film review or to enquire about how to do so, please send an e-mail to our Film Reviews Editor.
3. To submit information about upcoming events, exhibitions, conferences, conventions or calls for papers, please send an e-mail to the ejcjs Bulletin Editor.
4. To submit weblinks for inclusion in our weblinks pages, please send an e-mail to our Weblinks Editor.

If you would like to join our team

Then please get in touch! Unfortunately, as we are academic scholars giving of our skills, knowledge and time for free we cannot pay for contributions of any kind. However, participation of any kind might serve to enhance your own career as well as provide you with an opportunity to make new contacts and improve your knowledge and skills.

We are currently looking for:

1. Editorial Board Members
2. Article Reviewers

If you feel that you would like to become part of our team then send an e-mail to the general editor including contact details, a short biography, and any other information that you think is relevant.