Cabinet Office Policy on Mandatory Immediate Open Access to Research Outputs (Scholarly Articles, etc.)

On February 16, 2024, the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council of the Cabinet Office established the Basic Policy for Achieving Immediate Open Access to Scholarly Articles and Other Research Outputs (hereinafter, the Basic Policy).

To implement this policy, the Specific Measures for Implementing the Basic Policy for Achieving Immediate Open Access to Scholarly Articles and Other Research Outputs (inter-ministerial agreement, revised October 8, 2024) were formulated and published on the Cabinet Office website. In addition, a FAQ regarding the Basic Policy and the Specific Measures has also been made available.

• National Policy on Promoting Open Access to Publicly Funded Scholarly Publications and Scientific Data. (Decision of the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council, February 16, 2024)
• Measures for the Implementation of “National Policy on Promoting Open Access to Publicly Funded Scholarly Publications and Scientific Data” (Inter-ministerial agreement, revised October 8, 2024)
• FAQ on the Basic Policy and the Specific Measures for Its Implementation (Updated October 8, 2024) *Japanese Only

Research Outputs Subject to Mandatory Immediate Open Access

Research outputs that meet all three of the following conditions are subject to mandatory immediate Open Access.

1. Competitive research funds from FY2025 — Funded by specific competitive research funds newly solicited from FY2025
2. Peer-reviewed — Peer-reviewed scholarly articles (including author’s accepted manuscripts) and underlying data
3. Published in electronic journals — Articles published in electronic journals

① Funded by specific competitive research funds newly solicited from FY2025

“Specific competitive research funds” currently refer to the following four programs. For projects funded under new calls from FY2025 onward, researchers are required to make their research outputs—scholarly articles and underlying data—freely accessible to anyone immediately after journal publication (i.e., Open Access) and ensure that they are searchable via CiNii Research.

• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) – Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI)
• Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) – Strategic Basic Research Programs
• Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) – Strategic Research Programs (Innovative Advanced Research and Development Support Program)
• Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) – Exploratory Research Support Program

② Peer-reviewed scholarly articles and their underlying data

The key criterion is whether peer review has been conducted.

Even if a scholarly article resulting from research funded under condition ① is submitted to and published in an electronic journal (condition ③), it is not subject to immediate Open Access if it has not undergone peer review. For example, preprints are not included.

Furthermore, under this policy, not only articles but also their underlying research data are included as targets. However, this does not mean that all data that previously had no disclosure obligation must now be made public. Rather, the policy takes a flexible approach, such as: “If the journal in which the article is to be published requires data disclosure, then the underlying data should also be made Open Access together with the article.”

③ Published in an electronic journal

The policy applies to articles published in journals that are accessible online. Articles submitted to and published in print-only journals are not subject to mandatory immediate Open Access.