When publishing a scholarly article as Open Access, it is essential to check the policies set by publishers and academic societies in advance. This page explains the key points to check, useful databases, and the recommended steps for confirming publisher policies.

Why is it Necessary to Check Publisher Policies?

Many academic journals define conditions—through submission rules and guidelines—regarding whether articles submitted to the journal may be republished (self-archived) in institutional repositories or on authors’ personal websites.

Even when authors retain the copyright, free and immediate public disclosure is not always permitted. For example, even an author’s accepted manuscript may be prohibited from being self-archived in an institutional repository for a certain period after journal publication (embargo).

Key Points to Check

• Whether self-archiving is permitted — Is republication by the author allowed?
• Which version can be made public — The publisher’s version (Published Version / Version of Record) or the author’s accepted manuscript.
• When it can be made public — Immediately after publication, or only after an embargo period.
• Where it can be made public — Institutional repositories (e.g., TOUR), authors’ personal websites, research data lakes (e.g., IZUMI), or other repositories (such as figshare or Zenodo).

Points to Note When There Are Co-authors

Even if the publisher holds the copyright, or if self-archiving is permitted under a Creative Commons license, there have been cases where publishing data or articles without prior notice caused disputes among co-authors. To maintain trust among co-authors, it is strongly recommended to obtain consent in advance before making data or articles publicly available.

How to Check Publisher Policies

The following databases can be used to easily check publication conditions for each publisher or journal.

Overseas Journals: Open Policy Finder

• Scope: Publishers worldwide, including international journals
• Features: Allows you to check, at the journal level, which versions can be made public, embargo periods, and permitted publication locations

Japanese Journals: 学協会著作権ポリシーデータベース（SCPJ）

• Scope: Journals published by academic societies in Japan
• Features: Information on author accepted manuscripts, publication locations, and timing is organized in Google Spreadsheet format. Searching by journal title or ISSN is also possible.

For detailed instructions, please refer to “How to Check Journal Publication Policies” (PDF).