HomeOpen Access (OA)
Open Access (OA) refers to a state in which research outputs are made available online, allowing anyone to access and use them free of charge. By making research outputs open access, they can reach a wider audience, potentially increasing the impact of the research.
Furthermore, on February 16, 2024, based on the Basic Policy for Achieving Immediate Open Access to Academic Papers, formulated by the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council, it became mandatory that research outputs resulting from competitive research funds newly solicited from FY2025 onward and supported by public funds must be made openly accessible without delay after publication (“immediate open access”).
In light of these developments, Hiroshima University provides support for open access and is working to create an environment in which researchers can disseminate their work more easily.
How to Make Your Publications Open Access
There are two main ways to make a research article open access.
1. Making the Article Open Access through an Academic Journal (Gold OA)
This method involves paying an Article Processing Charge (APC) to the publisher of the academic journal, enabling the article to be made open access on the publisher’s platform.
2. Making the Article Open Access via an Institutional Repository (Green OA)
This method makes use of an institutional repository to provide open access to articles that have been published in academic journals.
APC Support
We provide APC grants and support necessary for making your papers open access.
Q1 Journal APC Subsidy
Those accepted by a Nature Research Journal or Science Advances will be compensated for the full APC amount. Those accepted by other Q1 journal will be compensated for the full APC amount if a first or corresponding author is age 35 and under. Those who are above the age of 35 will be compensated for 50% of the APC amount.
For more details, please refer to the URL below: (For HU faculty and staff only)
https://commu.office.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/aqua/a37d5400-8107-4d06-af51-f69bf7511b07/view
APC Support through Transformative Agreement
From January 2025, Hiroshima University supporting APC's through Transformative Agreements with ACS, Springer Nature and Wiley. And April 2025, HU supports APC's through Transformative Agreements with Elsevier. A Transformative Agreement is a contract with a publisher which combines the publishing fees and subscription fees into one. With these contracts, researchers can publish their articles in open access with full exemption or discount on APC payments. However, each publisher has a different limit on the number of APC’s they can support.
For HU faculty and staff, please refer to the URL below for more details:
https://commu.office.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/aqua/46692b17-dcf5-482a-98a7-c980773e6f31/view
For HU student, please refer to the URL below:
https://forms.office.com/r/MFmsmh5nMf
Free APC Vouchers and Discounts
| Publisher | Eligible Journals | Application Conditions | 料金 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Society of Chemistry | Hybrid journals excluding full OA journals |
You must use your Hiroshima University email address (@hiroshima-u.ac.jp) when submitting your paper. | Free (View details) |
| SCOAP3 | 11 journals from HEP | No restrictions on who can apply. | Free (View details) |
| Microbiology Society | journals | No restrictions on who can apply. You must enter the promotion code "USACO20232025" during submission. | 10％ discount |
| National Academy of Sciences | PNAS | HU faculty, staff and student | ＄5,300 |
Japan Institutional Gateway（JIG）
Japan Institutional Gateway (JIG) is a platform that enables researchers based in Japan to make their papers open access in a rapid and highly transparent manner. Hiroshima University participates in this initiative.
Key Features of JIG
- Immediate Publication: Share research results promptly by publishing papers before peer review
*Note: APC payment is required before preprint publication. - Research Data Sharing: Make research data publicly available for secondary use
- Open Peer Review: Ensure high transparency by making the review process open
- Support for Japanese Papers: In the humanities and social sciences, papers can also be published in Japanese
- Indexed in International Databases: Peer-reviewed papers are indexed in Scopus, PubMed, and other major databases
Reference URLs
For details and submission guidelines, please visit:
- Japan Institutional Gateway (Official Website)
- Japan Institutional Gateway (University of Tsukuba Research Information Portal “COTRE”)
Support for Publishing Papers in the Institutional Repository
The Hiroshima University Institutional Repository (HiR) provides support for registering and publishing academic papers, research data, and other scholarly outputs.
Even for articles published in academic journals, it may be possible to make them publicly available through the institutional repository, depending on the publisher’s policy and specific conditions.
