Journal profile · Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Soils and Foundations
ISSN 0038-0806 · eISSN 2524-1788 · Japanese Geotechnical Society · JAPAN · Bimonthly
Soils and Foundations: CAS Zone 2 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.6; fully open access; APC about USD 1,200; review about 219 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy; 114 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Soils and Foundations is published by Japanese Geotechnical Society and is in Zone 2 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Stabilization, Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering and Underground Structures, together about 58% of its articles. Its main subfields are Civil and Structural Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Peer Review under the responsibility of the Japanese Geotechnical SocietySoils and Foundations is one of the leading journals in the field of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. It is the official journal of the Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS)., The journal publishes a variety of original research paper, technical reports, technical notes, as well as the state-of-the-art reports upon invitation by the Editor, in the fields of soil and rock mechanics, geotechnical engineering, and environmental geotechnics. Since the publication of Volume 1, No.1 issue in June 1960, Soils and Foundations celebrated the 60th anniversary in the year of 2020.Soils and Foundations welcomes theoretical as well as practical work associated with the aforementioned field(s). Case studies that describe the original and interdisciplinary work applicable to geotechnical engineering are particularly encouraged. Discussions to each of the published articles are also welcomed in order to provide an avenue in which opinions of peers may be fed back or exchanged. In providing latest expertise on a specific topic, one issue out of six per year on average was allocated to include selected papers from the International Symposia which were held in Japan as well as overseas.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 10%); most named Japan 29, Mainland China 6, Australia 6, South Korea 3, Italy 3 (60 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geotechnical Engineering and Soil StabilizationEngineering20.5%
- Geotechnical Engineering and Soil MechanicsEngineering19.8%
- Geotechnical Engineering and Underground StructuresEngineering17.8%
- Geotechnical Engineering and AnalysisEngineering7.4%
- Soil and Unsaturated FlowEngineering5.8%
- Landslides and related hazardsEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Grouting, Rheology, and Soil MechanicsEngineering4.5%
- Dam Engineering and SafetyEngineering2.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Geological | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Geological | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Geological | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geosciences, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 3.6LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.15LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 64LetPub ·
- h-index
- 154OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,532OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.63OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 95.88%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 107LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,190 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 110 | 110 | 39 |
| 2025 | 114 | 114 | 442 |
| 2024 | 90 | 90 | 660 |
| 2023 | 105 | 105 | 1,114 |
| 2022 | 112 | 112 | 1,795 |
| 2021 | 119 | 119 | 2,742 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
219 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 3 months
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 21%Publisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 219 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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
Fully open accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 1,200 / EUR 1,120 / GBP 960 / JPY 148,840 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,200 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 1,500 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Reference style
- Author–date
Article types accepted8
- brief reportAuthors must indicate which of the following 5 categories they wish their manuscripts to be classified under:(1) Technical Paper• Must be a complete paper; pape…Length not stated
- discussion(4) Discussion• Questions or opinions relating to technical papers, reports and notes, committee reports or current situation reports published in the journal w…Length not stated
- editorialAuthors must indicate which of the following 5 categories they wish their manuscripts to be classified under:(1) Technical Paper• Must be a complete paper; pape…Length not stated
- opinionAuthors must indicate which of the following 5 categories they wish their manuscripts to be classified under:(1) Technical Paper• Must be a complete paper; pape…Length not stated
- other categories(6) Other categories: Society committee report, state-of-the-art report, review of author's own seminal contributions. These authors must have consulted the Edi…Length not stated
- reviewAuthors must indicate which of the following 5 categories they wish their manuscripts to be classified under:(1) Technical Paper• Must be a complete paper; pape…Length not stated
- surveyAuthors must indicate which of the following 5 categories they wish their manuscripts to be classified under:(1) Technical Paper• Must be a complete paper; pape…Length not stated
- technical noteAuthors must indicate which of the following 5 categories they wish their manuscripts to be classified under:(1) Technical Paper• Must be a complete paper; pape…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
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
- Japanese Geotechnical Society
- Country or region
- JAPAN
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- ISSN
- 0038-0806
- Electronic ISSN
- 2524-1788
- Society / sponsor
- Japanese Geotechnical Society
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Soils and Foundations
What CAS zone is Soils and Foundations in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Soils and Foundations is in Zone 2 of Engineering, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Engineering, Geological / Geosciences, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Soils and Foundations?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.6; CiteScore 6.5, h-index 154.
How long does peer review take at Soils and Foundations?
The publisher reports about 219 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 21%. 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Soils and Foundations?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Reference style: Author–date. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Soils and Foundations based?
Of the 60 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 10%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Japan (29), Mainland China (6) and Australia (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Soils and Foundations?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Soils and Foundations is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Soils and Foundations open access, and what is the APC?
Soils and Foundations is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,200.
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: .