Open Access
National Open Access policy
・Workflow for Mandatory Immediate Open Access (OA) (PDF) created by the Library (November,2025)
・ Mandating immediate Open Access to research outputs（Materials for the FY2026 KAKENHI Online Seminar (English) – June 24, 2025） / Video（For university members only）
In February 2024, the Cabinet Office announced the “National Policy on Promoting Open Access to Publicly Funded Scholarly Publications and Scientific Data”. Immediate Open Access (OA) to research outputs (peer-reviewed academic papers and scientific data) funded by grants such as KAKENHI will be mandatory for newly solicited projects starting in FY 2025.
- Research outputs subject to immediate open access
- What should I do?
- Status report
- Cabinet Office Documents
- FAQ
Research outputs subject to immediate open access
Grants to Mandatory
The following grants for FY2025 calls or after will be applied.
| JSPS | Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) |
| Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) | Strategic Basic Research Programs (excluding some) |
| Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) | Strategic Basic Research Programs (Advanced Research & Development Programs for Medical Innovation) |
| Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) | Fusion Oriented Research for disruptive Science and Technology |
*Even if awarded in FY2025, grants that were adopted before FY2024 are excluded.
Research Outputs to Mandatory
【Academic Papers】
Peer-reviewed research papers (including accepted manuscripts) published in e-journals.
【Scientific Data】
Underlying research data that are required to be published from perspectives of ensuring transparency and reproducibility in the journal's writing guidelines, and publication rules, such as supplemental data.
It does not include data that are not assumed to be published, and data that are required in the process of peer review.
What should I do?
You are expected to publish your research outputs in your institution’s repository (Kyushu University Institutional Repository, QIR) .
Reference: How to Deposit | Kyushu University Library
You may also choose in the following media:
- Disciplinary repositories, Jxiv and repository developed by JST (provided that ones can be searched in CiNii Research)
- Paying APC to academic publishers and others to publish as open access papers (Gold OA. Reference: APC support information | Kyushu University Library)
You must make your achievements open to the public without embargo periods after publication in academic journals.
Status report
- You are required to report the status of Open Access to each academic paper and its underlying data when you submit annual results report to the funding agency.
- If you are not able to make your research outputs open access immediately, you need to declare appropriate reasons in the report.
The video also covers this content.（created by the Library (November,2025)）
*AI-generated translation is used (made with Writevideo.ai).
Cabinet Office Documents
- National Policy on Promoting Open Access to Publicly Funded Scholarly Publications and Scientific Data (Cabinet Office, February 16, 2024)
- Measures for the Implementation of “National Policy on Promoting Open Access to Publicly Funded Scholarly Publications and Scientific Data” (Agreements of the relevant ministries and agencies, Amended on October 8, 2024)
- FAQs on the National Policy on Promoting Open Access to Publicly Funded Scholarly Publications and Scientific Data and Measures for the Implementation of “National Policy on Promoting Open Access to Publicly Funded Scholarly Publications and Scientific Data”
(Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Cabinet Office, Updated on October 8, 2024) *Japanese Only
FAQ
If you have any questions, please contact us via the contact form.
No | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Are only English papers subject to the immediate OA? | For peer-reviewed academic papers, language is not a factor. Japanese papers are also eligible. |
| 2 | Are conference proceedings or books (including book chapters) included in the scope of research outputs subject to the immediate OA? | No, conference proceedings and books (including book chapters) are not included. The immediate open access applies only to peer-reviewed academic papers and scientific data. |
| 3 | In the National Policy, does “electronic journal” refer to a journal that has an electronic version, or only to journals that exist exclusively in electronic form? | It refers to journals that have an electronic version. This includes journals that have both print and electronic editions. Only journals that exist solely in print are excluded. |
| 4 | What should I do if academic journals, publishers, or academic societies have regulations that impose an embargo period (a period during which public access is prohibited) on making articles available in an institutional repository? | Please report the reasons why it is difficult to immediate OA for the academic paper and its underlying data when submitting the annual results report to the funding agency. Once the reason for delaying open access is resolved, you need to make your paper open access promptly. QIR can automatically make your article public after the embargo period ends, so the Library recommend registering the accepted author manuscript in QIR in advance. |
| 5 | If I pay an APC and make the article open access on the publisher’s electronic journal site, do I still need to register the article in QIR? | It is sufficient to include the DOI or URL in the annual results report to the funding agency. Please note that, in accordance with internal policy, the Library may automatically register articles with a Creative Commons (CC) license in QIR. |
| 6 | Which version of the article should be registered in QIR? | The publisher version or the accepted author manuscript. |
| 7 | If the preprint is made publicly available on a preprint server such as arXiv before peer review, does that satisfy the immediate OA? | It is the accepted author manuscript or the publisher’s version that must be made publicly available, not the preprint (pre-review draft). For KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research), posting the accepted author manuscript on a preprint server and including its DOI or URL in the annual results report to the funding agency will be considered compliant. Please wait for further updates regarding the other grants. *Please check the publisher's copyright policy to determine whether the accepted author manuscript can be deposited |
| 8 | If an article is made publicly available on ResearchGate or on my laboratory homepage, does that satisfy the immediate open access ? | For KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research), posting the accepted author manuscript or the publisher version and including its DOI or URL in the annual results report to the funding agency will be considered compliant. Please wait for further updates regarding the other grants. *Please check the publisher's copyright policy to determine whether the accepted author manuscript can be deposited. |
| 9 | Is the immediate open access obligation limited to the first author of the article? | No. The obligation is not limited to the first author. Any author involved in a research project funded by the grant is subject to the requirement, even if they are not the first author. To ensure smooth compliance, it is recommended that the first author or corresponding author take the lead in deciding which open access method to adopt in advance. |
| 10 | If a co-author from another university in Japan is involved, do we need to make the article open access in both universities’ repositories to meet the immediate open access requirement? | No. It is sufficient to use the institutional repository of either university. Including the DOI or URL the annual results report to the funding agency will fulfill the requirement. |
| 11 | If the academic paper is made publicly available in an overseas institutional repository by a co-author, does that satisfy the immediate open access requirement? | Yes. For KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research), including the DOI or URL the annual research report to the funding agency will fulfill the requirement. Please wait for further updates regarding the other grants. |
| 12 | How can I check a journal’s copyright policy and embargo period? | To confirm whether posting is allowed and to check embargo periods, please use the following resources: Open policy finder（for policies of overseas publishers） SCPJ Search（for policies of domestic academic society journals） |
