Ethical Code for Publishing in the Japanese Journal of Human Geography
Enacted on April 8, 2023
Since its launch by the Human Geographical Society of Japan (hereafter “the Society”) in 1948, the Japanese Journal of Human Geography has served as a representative academic journal of Japanese geography by contributing to development of the field and meeting social demands. To fulfill these responsibilities, authors of research papers, and reviewers and the Editorial Board who determine whether a paper should be published, need to understand that the journal contents must be accountable to society and may have an impact on the general population. This requires behavior based on an appropriate sense of ethics in accordance with the “Code of Conduct for Scientists” (Revised Version) enacted by the Science Council of Japan on January 25, 2013.
[Objectives]
1. This code is enacted to ensure that all articles in the Japanese Journal of Human Geography published by the Society meet universal ethical standards. In addition to what is stipulated in this code, stakeholders should abide by the code of ethics of the Society.
[Ethics for Authors]
2. Authors who submit a manuscript to the Japanese Journal of Human Geography should observe the following points:
(1) Authors should include all individuals who significantly contributed to a study in the manuscript and all should agree with publication of the manuscript. No other individuals can be included as an author.
(2) Authors are accountable for all contents of their manuscript and should respond appropriately and seriously when a question arises about the manuscript.
(3) Authors should not submit a manuscript to the Japanese Journal of Human Geography as an Article, Review, Research Note, Focus, or Book Review that contains the same or substantially the same content to that already published in other journals. A manuscript submitted to the Japanese Journal of Human Geography for review should not be concomitantly submitted to other journals.
(4) Authors should disclose information and data used in preparation of their manuscript such that the general population can examine the contents of the manuscript.
(5) Authors should not prepare a manuscript using fabricated or falsified information or data.
(6) Authors should not prepare a manuscript by plagiarizing research results or unpublished data of others. When referring or quoting contents already published by others, authors should show the reference sources using appropriate methods and processes.
(7) Authors should respect the theories of others and should recognize that scientific evidence is needed to criticize other theories.
(8) Authors should obtain agreement from collaborators and subjects of their study to collect research and experimental data for use in a manuscript by fully explaining the purpose of the study. Authors should respect the personal feelings and human rights of collaborators and subjects without any prejudice with regard to privacy, images, and intellectual property.
(9) All authors should disclose in the manuscript any grants or other funding regarding their research. Authors should also state any conflict of interest regarding financial relationships with other people or organizations, such as employment, consultancies, etc. In addition, all authors should disclose in their manuscript any personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence their work.
(10) Authors should respond to review comments with care and honesty.
[Ethics for Reviewers]
3. Reviewers of manuscripts submitted to the Japanese Journal of Human Geography should observe the following points:
(1) Reviewers are those who accept an appointment to work as a reviewer from the Editor-in-Chief or Co-Editor of the Japanese Journal of Human Geography.
(2) Reviewers should immediately decline an offer to work as a reviewer of a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest regarding the author(s) or contents of the manuscript.
(3) Reviewers should review a manuscript in a fair and equitable manner by the deadline and with scientific objectivity, independently of differences with the positions and ideas of the authors.
(4) Reviewers should review a manuscript logically and provide explanations accountable for the result of the review. Additionally, reviewers should respect the personal feelings, intellectual positions and dignity of the authors.
(5) Reviewers should immediately inform the Editorial Board of suspicious duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, or appropriation of content.
(6) Reviewers should not tell anyone other than the Editorial Board (including secretariats of the Society who engage in liaison work) about their identity as a reviewer, the review results, and the contents of a manuscript.
(7) Reviewers should not use the contents of a manuscript during the review. Additionally, reviewers should wait until publication of the manuscript before using its contents.
[Ethics for the Editorial Board]
4. The Editorial Board of the Japanese Journal of Human Geography should observe the following points:
(1) The Editorial Board should engage in fair and equitable management of the Board and editorial affairs.
(2) The Editor-in-Chief or Co-Editor should select two or more appropriate reviewers for a submitted manuscript based on the type and contents of the manuscript.
(3) An editorial member who has a conflict of interest with regard to the authors or contents of a submitted manuscript should not participate in review of the manuscript.
(4) The Editorial Board should not tell anyone other than the relevant reviewers about information on the review discussed in the Editorial Board and the contents of the manuscript. However, if the Board of Councilors determines that there is a need for a report to the Board of Councilors, the Editor-in-Chie should report the necessary information to the Board of Councilors.
(5) The Editorial Board should immediately take appropriate measures if a suspected ethics violation is reported, such as duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, or appropriation of content.
(6) After a discussion at the Board led by the Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Board should inform authors about the results of a review under the name of the Editorial Board. If the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest with regard to the authors or contents of a manuscript, the results should be discussed at the Board led by the Co-Editor.
(7) The Editorial Board should respond sincerely to inquiries from authors about the results of a review of their manuscript, and inform results of discussion to the authors under the name of the Editorial board.
(8) The Editorial Board should immediately take appropriate measures, such as retraction of a manuscript, when a suspected ethics violation, such as duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, and appropriation of content, is confirmed for a manuscript that has already been published in the Japanese Journal of Human Geography.
(9) Secretariats of the Society should follow the same ethical guidelines as the Editorial Board with regard to information related to editing that is obtained through liaison work.
[Procedures for Revision]
5. This code can only be revised after obtaining approval from the Board of Councilors.