Peer review process

Editorial and Peer Review Process

This journal is a peer-reviewed publication. Manuscripts in the following categories—“Perspectives,” “Review,” “Systematic Review,” “Original Article,” “Short Communication,” “Field Report,” “Special Report,” “Editorial,” “Commentary,” and “Other”—will be published only if accepted after peer review. At least two reviewers, with the authors’ names and affiliations concealed, conduct the peer review.
Upon submission, manuscripts undergo an initial review by the Editor-in-Chief or a Senior Editor. Manuscripts deemed outside the scope of the journal or unsuitable for publication will be rejected without peer review. For manuscripts that pass the initial review, the Editor-in-Chief or Senior Editor will assign an Editorial Board member as the handling editor. The assigned Editorial Board member will assess whether the manuscript meets the basic submission requirements and select two peer reviewers. Peer reviewers may be non-members of the Society.

査読者の選定、査読期間、提案

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for making the final decision on the publication of each manuscript. Editorial Board members serve an advisory role, providing feedback as peer reviewers and offering suggestions to improve the journal. If the Editor-in-Chief is an author of the submitted manuscript, a member of the Editorial Board will make the final decision regarding publication.
Reviewers are selected based on their expertise in the relevant field, reputation, recommendations, or prior experience as reviewers for the journal. Review requests will be sent within three weeks of manuscript submission. Reviewers will have access to a platform where manuscripts are provided with author names and affiliations removed, and where they can submit their review. The standard review period for submitted manuscripts is three weeks; for commissioned manuscripts, the Editorial Board will determine an appropriate review period. If reviewers anticipate delays, they should contact the Editorial Board as soon as possible.

Peer Review Report

Our journal policy is to provide reviewer comments to authors in their original form. However, we reserve the right to edit reviewer comments without consulting the reviewer if they contain offensive language, confidential information, or publication recommendations.
Reviewers assess whether the submitted manuscript is appropriate for its type and contributes to the advancement of health education and health promotion research (see also “Peer Review of Field Reports” for information regarding field reports). Reviewers also evaluate whether the manuscript complies with the Guidelines for Authors and the Authoring Guidelines.
We ask reviewers to conduct "educational peer reviews." While there are various interpretations of "educational peer review," please understand that this is peer review with the aim of acceptance, not rejection. However, this does not mean that we accept all submissions.

Acceptance Criteria

If a manuscript meets the journal’s requirements and is judged to make a significant contribution to the field if published, the Editorial Board will recommend it for publication.
The acceptance criteria for papers to be published in the Japanese Journal of Health Education and Promotion are as follows:
 The content must fall within the scope of the journal.
 The paper must be novel and original.
 The research must be methodologically rigorous.
 The topic must be of considerable interest to the journal’s readership.
 The paper must represent an important contribution to the field.
If a manuscript does not meet the journal’s acceptance criteria, the Editorial Board may recommend rejection.

Editorial Board Confidentiality During Peer Review

The journal maintains the confidentiality of unpublished manuscripts. Additionally, editorial board members are expected to adhere to the following:
 Not disclose the identity of peer reviewers unless reasonably requested by the reviewers.
 Not discuss a manuscript or its contents with anyone not directly involved in the manuscript or peer review.
 Not use data or information from a manuscript in their own research or publications.
 Not use information obtained during the peer-review process for personal gain, for the benefit of others, or to the detriment of any individual or organization.

Reviewer Confidentiality

As part of their responsibilities, reviewers agree to maintain the confidentiality of unpublished manuscripts at all times. By accepting an invitation to review a manuscript, reviewers also agree to abide by the following:
 Not disclose their role in reviewing the manuscript.
 Not reveal their identity to the manuscript’s authors.
 Not discuss the manuscript or its contents with anyone not directly involved in the review.
 Not involve third parties (including postdoctoral researchers or doctoral students) in the review process without prior permission from the editorial board.
 Not use data or information from the manuscript in their own research or publications.
 Not use information gained during the peer-review process for personal gain, for the benefit of others, or to the detriment of any individual or organization.

Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest arises when a reviewer has any actual, perceived, or potential circumstances that may affect their ability to evaluate a manuscript fairly. Examples include having a personal or professional relationship with an author, working on the same or a competing topic as the author, having a financial interest in the research or its publication, or having seen an earlier version of the manuscript. While the Editor-in-Chief strives to avoid conflicts of interest when inviting reviewers, it is not always possible to identify all potential biases. Reviewers are required to disclose any conflicts of interest to the Editor-in-Chief, who will use this information to determine the appropriate course of action.

Errata and Retractions

If corrections become necessary after publication, they may be published as an “erratum” following discussion with the Editorial Board. However, if the corrections are due to the author’s own fault, the author will be responsible for the actual printing costs.
A retraction will be issued if a published paper contains invalid or unreliable results or conclusions, has been published elsewhere, or violates standards of conduct (research ethics or publication ethics). Individuals requesting a retraction are encouraged to contact the journal’s editorial staff with details of their concerns. The Editor-in-Chief will investigate and contact the authors of the paper to obtain a response. If co-authors disagree on the retraction, the Editor-in-Chief may seek advice from the Editorial Board or external peer reviewers. If a paper is retracted, any dissenting authors will be indicated in the text.

Treatment of Papers Submitted by Editorial Board Members

When editorial board members, including the Editor-in-Chief, submit a manuscript, they are excluded from the peer-review process. The online manuscript submission and tracking system allows authors to view their manuscripts, but not editorial board members, ensuring the confidentiality of the peer review.
 
For further details about the peer-review process, please refer to the journal’s Peer Review Guidelines."

Copyright, Open Access, and Publishing Costs

As of July 1, 2025, the journal will operate as a fully open-access publication, and articles will be published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This license allows users to freely share, reuse, and adapt articles without obtaining permission from the authors or publishers, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors and sources.

Copyright and Licensing

In principle, the copyright of papers accepted for publication is transferred to the Society. Authors are required to sign a copyright transfer agreement upon publication. The Society will then publish the paper under the CC BY 4.0 license after receiving the copyright transfer.
Papers published in Volume 33, Issue 3 (2025) and subsequent issues will be subject to the journal’s new copyright policy and will be published under the CC BY 4.0 license. Papers published in earlier issues will follow the previous copyright policy. Reprinting of these papers is permitted under the following conditions: (1) registration on the author’s institution website or institutional repository, or (2) posting on the author’s personal website. If reprinting elsewhere is desired, a Reprint Approval Application Form, available for download from the Society’s website, must be submitted to the Society Secretariat. Please note that electronic data for reprinting is limited to the PDF version published in the journal on J-STAGE. For reprinting in doctoral dissertations, please follow the separate regulations.
Some research funding organizations require that funded papers be published under a specific Creative Commons license. Verification with the relevant funding agencies must be conducted by the authors prior to submission.

Article Publication Fees

The Society will cover publication fees (typesetting and printing costs) up to the specified page limit. If the number of pages exceeds this limit, a fee of 11,000 yen per additional page will be charged. After publication, any excess publication fees should be paid to the account specified separately upon request. Fees for reprints are listed in the attached table and should also be paid to the account.

Publication Costs

The Journal of the Japanese Society for Health Education and Research is available online free of charge. No "submission fee" is required. However, the cost of extra pages and the preparation of reprints must be borne by the author. For a list of costs, please refer to "2. Notes on Manuscript Preparation" in the Authoring Guidelines.

Manuscript submission

(Submissions must be electronic in principle; however, mail submissions are also accepted.)
1.Manuscripts should be prepared in two forms: a “manuscript” and an “anonymized manuscript.” The “manuscript” should follow this order: cover page (including abstract), main text, and figures/photos. The “anonymized manuscript” should follow this order: title page, anonymized main text, and figures/photos. Both should be compiled into a single file using MS Word according to the writing guidelines. If the files are prepared in different software or across multiple files, please submit the original files along with a PDF. Upon notification of acceptance, the English abstract should be professionally proofread and promptly submitted to the Editorial Board Secretariat along with the final manuscript.
2.No submission fee is required. However, the author is responsible for the costs of excess pages and reprints. A list of fees is available on our website (see “2. Notes on Manuscript Preparation” in the writing guidelines).
3.Manuscripts should be submitted via the journal submission website.
4.When submitting a manuscript, please complete the attached Copyright Transfer Agreement (downloadable from the Society’s website) and submit it as a PDF via the journal’s submission site.
5.If any of the authors, including the corresponding author, has a conflict of interest related to the manuscript, the corresponding author should complete the attached Japan Journal of Health Education and Life Sciences COI Self-Declaration Form at the Time of Submission (downloadable from the Society’s website) on behalf of all authors and submit it as a PDF via the journal’s submission site. Submitted declaration forms will be managed in accordance with the Society’s COI guidelines.
6.If submitting by email or post, please send the manuscript to the editorial office.

Formatting guidelines

(1)   The text and abstract should be double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font printed on A4-size paper, leaving margins of 25 mm at the top and bottom and 25 mm at the right- and left-hand sides.
(2)   Number pages and lines consecutively from the cover letter through the references.
(3)   Authors for whom English is a second language should have their manuscript professionally edited before submission.
(4)   Use half-size font characters for numeric and alphabetic characters. Arabic numerals should be used for all numbers 10 and above.
(5)   The notation of N and n indicating the number of subjects follows the "American Medical Association Manual of Style". Use N to represent the entire sample size of your study and n to represent the size  of  the  subgroup.  Example:  Patients  who  were urgently hospitalized in the past month were analyzed (N = 127), and the number of patients with angina was the highest (n = 38).
(6)   The symbol indicating  the  p-value  follows  the  "American  Medical Association Manual of Style". Mark it as " P "  in  italics,  and  leave  a  half-width  space  before  and after it. In addition, in the title part of the table, please indicate only "P " instead of "P - value" or "P value".
(7)   Number tables, figures, and illustrations consecutively and cite in numeric order. Indicate in the margin of the text where each table, figure, or illustration should appear in the published article.
(8)   Use images and photos with a resolution of 300 dpi or higher.
Authors must obtain permission from the original publisher to include previously published tables, figures, or illustrations. Each previously published table, figure, or illustration must carry a credit line stating the original source.
(9)   References must be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text. Reference numbers in the text should be given in superscript – for example, 1) or 1, 2) or 1- 3).
(10)   In the reference list, indicate each reference as below.
1)   List the names and initials of all authors if there are three or fewer; otherwise, list the first three authors and then add “et al”.
2)   Verify journal abbreviations using MEDLINE. If a journal is listed in Medline, then it should be spelled out in full.
3)   In the citation description, leave a half-width space after the colon or semicolon, and use a half-width hyphen.
4)   For English references in the reference list, capitalize only the first word and proper noun, and leave the rest in lowercase.
e.g. Health behavior．
5)   Include spaces after colons or semi-colons.
e.g. Effects of advocacy on healthy food eating: A cross-sectional study.
Sample references:
Journal article
1)  Aikawa R, Jimba M, Nguen KC, et al. Prenatal iron supplementation in rural Vietnam. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008; 62: 946-952.
Chapter in book
2)   O’Neill M, Stirling A. The promotion of health or health promotion? In: O’Neill M, Pederson A, Dupere S, et al. eds. Health Promotion in Canada: Critical Perspectives. Second Edition. Toronto: 2007: 32-45.
Book
3)   Laverack G. Health Promotion Practice: Power and Empowerment. London: Sage Publications 2004: 1-5.
Materials written in languages other than English
4)   Miyasaka T. Kenkokyouiku no hensenn genjyo konngo no kadai. Hokenn No Kagaku. 2000;42:508-513. [in Japanese]
Electronic citations
Websites should be cited with their URL and access date. (See the 11th edition of the AMA Manual of Style.)
5)   Smith R. The polypill is about demedicalisation not medicalisation. http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2009/05/01/richard-smith-the-polypill-is-about- demedicalisation-not-medicalisation. Accessed 17 July, 2009.
(11)   For describing statistical results, please follow the guidelines set forth in the following books:
● Gardner MJ and Altman DG. Statistics with Confidence. London: BMJ Publishing Group, 1990.
● American Medical Association. AMA manual of style: a guide for authors and editors, 11th edition. New York: Oxford University Press; 2020.
(12)   When writing a report on JSHEP activities, including society-sponsored seminars, etc., please include a title or subtitle such as "Report on the activities of XX research group in XX fiscal year" to make it clear that it is a report on academic society activities. In addition, please provide a "Postscript" section before the "Conflict of Interest" section and explain that "This is a report on the activities of the Japanese Society of Health Education's XX Research Group in the XX academic year.

Accepted manuscripts

Accepted manuscripts are proofread and typeset by the journal’s production team prior to publication. The journal is published four times a year, both online and in print. All communication regarding accepted manuscripts will be conducted with the corresponding author.

Proofreading

Authors are responsible only for proofreading the first draft. As a general rule, additions and corrections beyond typographical errors are not permitted. Second and subsequent proofs will be completed by the editorial committee based on the author’s proofs. If the final publication differs from the author’s proofs, an erratum will be published in the next issue upon the author’s request.

Offprints

Offprint fees are listed in the appendix.

Appendix. Offprint fee
Number of pages in the main text	50 copies	100 copies	150 copies	200 copies	More than 200 copies
1 to 4 pages	4,400yen	6,600yen	8,800yen	11,000yen	3,300 yen per additional 50 copies
5 to 8 pages	4,950yen	7,700yen	9,900yen	12,100yen	3,300 yen per additional 50 copies
9 to 12 pages	5,500yen	8,800yen	11,000yen	14,300yen	3,300 yen per additional 50 copies
13 pages and above	＋1,100yen per additional 4pages	＋1,100yen per additional 4pages	＋1,100yen per additional 4pages	＋1,100yen per additional 4pages

Additional notes:
1. Shipping fees and consumption tax must be paid in addition to the reprint costs listed above.
2. A supplementary fee of 20 yen per copy must be paid for the cover page.
3.  If you wish to order more than 500 offprints, please consult directly with the secretariat of the Japanese Society of Health Education and Promotion regarding costs.