Information for Authors

GENERAL

1. Title should be concise (no more than 20 words) and spelled with initial capital letter instead of all capital letters at the first page of manuscript.

2. All submissions should be accompanied by the first page of manuscript listing (1) full first names and (2) surnames (surnames must be typed in bold script to discriminate it from first name), affiliations and addresses of the authors

3. A corresponding author's name, and e-mail address must be specified separately from the author's names at the first page of manuscript.

4. A structured abstract of no more than 200 words must be provided at the 2nd page of manuscript and contain the following (one example):

1) Objective: An introductory sentence indicating the objective and purpose of the study.

2) Design: A briefly worded description of the study design.

3) Materials and Methods: Quantity and quality of Materials and a description of experimental procedures including applicable statistical evaluation.

4) Results: A summary of the new, previously unpublished data and results.

5) Discussions

6) Conclusions: Statement of the study's conclusion.

Original article, Review article and Case Report require structured abstract. Abstract is not always necessary in Editorial, Letter to the editor. If you wish to include it, you may attach non-structured one.

5. 3-5 key words which must be with small letter unless special necessity as well as a short title not exceeding 50 letters must be provided. These will be printed after abstract.

6. Headline:

1) Big headline should be written in all capital letters.

2) Crosshead, if any, should be spelled with a capital initial.

3) Subhead, if any, should be spelled with a capital initial and italicized.

7. Paragraph: At the beginning of the first sentence, several letters of blank space should be made.

8. Manuscripts should be double spaced, on A4 paper. These should be numbered sequentially in the lower middle place.

9. Original articles are usually up to 3,000 words and 30 references with a maximum of 4 tables and figures (total). Review articles 3,000 words long, with a maximum of 4 tables and figures (total) and no more than 60 references. Excellent review articles are especially welcome.

Short communications 1,200 words long, with a maximum of 2 tables and figures (total) and no more than 15 references.

Case reports describe, in 750 words, an interesting case or cases that a general physician might encounter, in which there was some difficulty in reaching a diagnosis, and that provides a teaching point. Preferably the case should have a good illustration, 2 figures and 10 references.

Letters to the editor intended for publication should be a maximum of 500 words, 10 references, one table or figure, and should be sent to the editor at the address given.

10. If you have registered as a preprint, please indicate this in your paper.

11. After a final edited version of a paper has been approved by the editor, further changes should be limited to computer's errors, such as illegible letters, otherwise it may be necessary to make a charge. After editing the manuscript and laying it out, we will send the PDF file of preliminary galley to the corresponding author for proofreading. During proofreading by author, it is prohibited to revise minor corrections and polish up text at this final stage because author must submit the final version of text to the publisher from the beginning. That is proofreading is only to check up if original text is properly laid out or not.

12. Submission of a paper to the Journal will be held to imply that it represents an original contribution not previously published (except in the form of an abstract or preliminary report); that is not being considered for publication elsewhere; and that if accepted by the Journal it will not be published elsewhere in the same form without the consent of the Editors.

13. PDF file will be supplied to a corresponding author after the galley has been completed.

MANUSCRIPT REQUIREMENTS

Papers submitted should be concise and written in English in a readily understandable style. We advise the authors to seek help of English speaking people before submission. The typescript, where possible, should follow the conventional form, introduction and review of literature, materials and methods, results, discussion and summary. (When describing any drugs used, give generic names, not trade names.)

Acknowledgements, Ethical statement, Informed consent, Conflict of interest should appear at the end of the written section of the paper, before the section on References.

The author must retain a copy of the manuscript for personal use. Please note that the original manuscript and manuscript diagrams will be discarded.

Tables and figures should be so constructed as to be intelligible without reference to the text. The location of figures and tables in the galley will be laid out at the corner of the page by man in charge of layout. Please put tables and figures after references without putting tables and figures in the text.

In the interests of economy and to prevent the introduction of errors, figures will be reproduced by photo-offset means, directly from the authors' original drawings. Every table should be provided with an explanatory caption, and each column should carry an appropriate heading. Every table must be made in WORD format. Every figure should always be clearly indicated.

Currently, we ask author to make graphs, illustrations and pictures, if any and deliver them in electronic form in JPG format.

Illustrations should accompany the manuscript on a separate sheet, and legends should include all relevant details. It is not possible to reproduce prints with weak lines or damaged characters. Illustrations for reproduction should normally be about twice the final size required. Half-tones should be included only where they are essential and they should be glossy prints, mouthed on separate sheets. All photographs, charts and diagrams should be referred to as "Figures" and numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first referred to in the text.

Nomenclature: owing to the international character of the Journal no rigid rules will be observed. Each paper should be consistent within itself as to nomenclature, symbols and unit.

REFERENCING

References must include latest citations in it.

References should follow one method (Vancouver referencing system) written below.

References are numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. At the end of the article the full list of references should give the names and initials of authors (describe authors' names up to 5. If there are more than 5, please manifest the first 3, and it must be followed by et al.). The authors' names are followed by the title of the article. The title of the journal must be abbreviated according to the style of Index Medicus (see "List of Journals Indexed," printed yearly in the January issue of Index Medicus); the year of publication; the volume number; and the first and last page numbers. References to books should give the names of any editors, the title of the book, place of publication, publisher and year.

Examples:

1. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. BMJ 1991; 302: 338-41.

2. Haynes RB, Mulrow CD, Huth EJ, Altman DG, Gardner MJ. More informative abstracts revisited. Ann Intern Med 1990; 113: 69-76.

3.Gardner MJ, Altman DG, eds. Statistics with confidence. London: BMJ, 1989.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT

Articles for publication, and other communications from authors should be directed to Mr. W. Uchida, secretary at the following e-mail address. Before submission, please check up the manuscript with the following CHECK LIST. Please send us one WORD file including every table and figure through e-mail as an attached file.

E-mail address: [email protected]

EDITING METHOD

IMJ is edited in accordance with International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

PUBLICATION CHARGE

Submission charge: free

Article Processing charge: free

EDITORIAL OFFICE

IMJ Division

Seron Jiho-sha Co., Ltd.

Shinsen-Kyoei bldg. 2nd floor

24-6, Maruyama-cho

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 154-0044

Japan

E-mail: [email protected]

CHECK LIST

Copyright & License

All articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Authors retain extensive rights to use, share, and distribute their work, including self-archiving in institutional or subject repositories, reuse in teaching materials, and sharing with colleagues.

DOI Registration

DOI metadata for all articles published in the IMJ from Volume 33, No. 1 (2026) and thereafter are registered with Crossref through the J-STAGE platform.

Archiving Policy

All articles published in the IMJ from Volume 33, No. 1 (2026) onward are preserved on the J-STAGE platform, which ensures long-term digital archiving and permanent accessibility to full-text content and supplementary materials.
Each article receives a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) via the Japan Link Center (JaLC), and its metadata is automatically deposited in Crossref in an internationally standardized format. Through Crossref, the metadata is distributed to major scholarly indexing and discovery services, supporting persistent citation links and global visibility.
This multi-layered preservation system ensures the long-term accessibility and reliability of the journal's published content.

Open Access Policy

All articles in this journal are published in open access under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Content is freely accessible online immediately upon publication. Authors retain copyright, and appropriate attribution is required for reuse. The journal has adopted an open access model since Volume 28, No. 2 (April 2021).

PEER-REVIEW PROCESS

Our journal uses a single-blind peer-review system. Reviewers know the authors' identities, but authors do not know the reviewers' identities.

・	All submissions undergo an initial editorial screening for scope, ethical compliance, and originality.
・	Manuscripts that pass screening are evaluated by independent experts (peer reviewers) in the relevant field.
・	Reviewers assess the scientific quality, clarity, methodological soundness, and ethical standards of the manuscript, and recommend acceptance, revision, or rejection.
・	Authors are required to revise their manuscripts in response to reviewer comments.
・	Associate Editors or Editorial Board members handle manuscripts and provide recommendations based on the peer-review reports.
・	The Editor-in-Chief makes the final editorial decision on publication, while the Publisher holds overall responsibility for the journal's operations and legal matters.
・	All manuscripts and reviews are handled confidentially, and reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest.
・	The journal follows the guidelines of COPE and ICMJE.

Review Timeline

The initial screening process usually takes several days. In general, the first editorial decision is provided within approximately 4-6 weeks, although the duration may vary depending on reviewer availability and the nature of the manuscript. Some manuscripts may require revision. The total review time may vary depending on the extent of revisions required. After revision is completed, the paper will be formally accepted for publication. Before publication, a preliminary galley proof is sent to the corresponding author for proofreading. The typical time from submission to online publication is approximately 3-6 months.

CODE OF ETHICS

Ethical Policy

The journal adheres to internationally recognized standards of research and publication ethics, including the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the Declaration of Helsinki. All authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to comply with these principles.

Human Subjects

Research involving human participants must receive prior approval from an institutional review board or ethics committee. Authors must clearly state the name of the committee and the approval number in the manuscript. Informed consent must be obtained from all participants or their legal guardians, and the study must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Animal Research

Studies involving animals must comply with institutional, national, and international guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals. Authors must provide the name of the ethics committee that approved the study.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship must be based on the ICMJE criteria:
・ Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
・ Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
・ Final approval of the version to be published.
・ Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged but not listed as authors.

Publication Ethics

Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, and inappropriate authorship practices are strictly prohibited. Suspected misconduct will be investigated and handled in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Plagiarism Screening

All submitted manuscripts may be screened for plagiarism using similarity detection tools. Manuscripts with significant overlap may be returned to authors for explanation or rejected.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose all financial or personal relationships that could influence their work. If no conflicts exist, authors must state this explicitly. Editors and reviewers must also disclose any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when appropriate.

Peer Review Ethics

Manuscripts are evaluated through a fair, unbiased, and confidential peer-review process. Reviewers must not use information obtained during the review for personal advantage or share it with others.

Data Transparency

Authors are encouraged to make underlying data available in public repositories or provide a clear explanation when data cannot be shared. Data should be accurate, complete, and available for verification upon request.

Data Retention

Authors should retain original research data for a minimum of five years after publication and provide access to the journal if questions arise regarding the accuracy of the work.

Image Integrity

Images must not be manipulated in a way that could mislead readers. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color are acceptable only if applied uniformly and do not obscure or eliminate information. Any necessary modifications must be clearly described.

Retraction and Correction Policy

The journal follows COPE guidelines for corrections and retractions.
・ Corrections (Errata/Corrigenda) will be issued for honest errors that do not invalidate the findings.
・ Retractions will be issued for serious ethical violations, including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or unreliable findings.
Retracted articles will remain accessible with a clear retraction notice to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by the journal's sponsors, advertisers, or other external parties.