Journal profile · AREA STUDIES
Japanese Studies
ISSN 1037-1397 · eISSN 1469-9338 · Taylor & Francis
Japanese Studies: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.4 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 200 days to acceptance (29 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 22% (journal website); 26 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Japanese Studies is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Japanese History and Culture, Asian Culture and Media Studies and Human auditory perception and evaluation, together about 46.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Japanese Studies is a fully refereed, international, interdisciplinary journal which publishes scholarly articles on various aspects of Japan, as well as book and film reviews. In addition to general non-thematic editions, the journal regularly publishies guest-edited thematic issues on such themes as postwar politics, environmental issues, literature, citizenship, the legal system, modern technology, management, Japanese language teacher education, and popular culture. These thematic issues are particularly valuable for university teachers and students who use up-to-date studies of Japan contained in the journal to supplement course readings. Contributions are invited from scholars around the world. Ideas expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor, the Association, or the Editorial Advisory Board. Peer Review Statement All Research Articls published in the journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and double-anonymous refereeing by two referees. Book Reviews are editorially assessed. Disclaimer
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): AREA STUDIES
Editor-in-chief Carolyn S. StevensPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 2, Japan 1, Australia 1 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Japanese History and CultureSocial Sciences31%
- Asian Culture and Media StudiesSocial Sciences8.3%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering7.6%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.8%
- Chinese history and philosophySocial Sciences6.7%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science5.2%
- EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningArts and Humanities3.7%
- Hong Kong and Taiwan PoliticsSocial Sciences2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
OCLC, Academic Search Premier, America: History and Life, ArticleFirst, Bibliography of Asian Studies (Online), Biological Sciences, Current Abstracts, Dietrich's Index Philosophicus, EBSCOhost Electronic Collections Online, Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management, Historical Abstracts, Humanities International Complete, Humanities International Index, International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center, MLA International Bibliography, PAIS International, Sociological Abstracts (Online), Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Risk Management Reference Center, SocINDEXPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.16LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.16Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.54LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.54Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 34OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 148OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.33OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 12.5%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 16LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 54,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,525 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 17 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 26 | 7 | 5 |
| 2024 | 26 | 6 | 17 |
| 2023 | 30 | 5 | 31 |
| 2022 | 35 | 4 | 50 |
| 2021 | 26 | 4 | 114 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
200 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 122 days – 385 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 104 days (29 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 353 days
- Sample
- 29 articles with submission and acceptance dates (44 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 22%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 45 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 76 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted2
- book reviewsBook Reviews are editorially assessed.Length not stated
- research articlesAll Research Articls published in the journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and double-anonymous refereeing by two refe…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal (Open Select) Model summary
Japanese Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and reader…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: double-anonymous refereeing by two referees after initial editor screening Model summary
All Research Articls published in the journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and double-anonymous refereeing by two referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1037-1397
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-9338
- Society / sponsor
- Japanese Studies Association of Australia
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 46, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Japanese Studies
What CAS zone is Japanese Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Japanese Studies is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Area Studies. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Japanese Studies?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.4 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 0.8, h-index 34.
How long does peer review take at Japanese Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 29 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 200 days (interquartile range 122–385 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 22%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Japanese Studies based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (2), Japan (1) and Australia (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Japanese Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Japanese Studies is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Japanese Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Japanese Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .