Asian Journal of Sport History & Culture

Submission Instructions

The Special Issue welcomes original and previously unpublished manuscripts examining sport, physical culture, and society in Japan. Papers may adopt historical, sociological, anthropological, cultural, political, educational, or interdisciplinary approaches.

1. Types of Papers Accepted

The Special Issue welcomes the following types of full-length papers:

• Original Research Articles: Papers presenting new findings based on archival materials, interviews, fieldwork, textual or media analysis, quantitative data, or other appropriate sources.
• Review and Historiographical Articles: Critical examinations of existing scholarship that identify important debates, research gaps, or new directions for the study of sport in Japan.
• Methodological or Source-based Articles: Papers introducing new historical sources, digital methods, oral-history approaches, visual or material evidence, or other methodological developments, provided that they make a clear scholarly argument.
• Comparative and Transnational Studies: Papers comparing Japan with other societies or examining the international circulation of sporting practices, institutions, people, and ideas. Japan should remain central to the analysis.

All papers should clearly state their aims or research questions, engage with relevant scholarship, explain the methodology or analytical approach adopted, and demonstrate their contribution to knowledge.

2. Word Limits and Authorship

• Articles should be 7,000–8,000 words, including references.
• Manuscripts must be written in English.
• Each article should normally have no more than four authors.
• Submissions must be original and must not be under consideration by another journal.

3. Recommended Structure

The precise structure may vary according to discipline and methodology, but manuscripts should normally include:

• a concise and representative title;
• an abstract explaining the aims, approach, and principal findings;
• an introduction establishing the context, research objective, and significance of the study;
• an explanation of the methodology or analytical approach;
• a clear presentation and discussion of the findings;
• a conclusion addressing the contribution, limitations, implications, and possible directions for further research; and
• complete notes and references.

Authors should use clear and accessible language, explain specialist terms and acronyms, and ensure that references are current and directly relevant to the argument.

4. Formatting Requirements

• Manuscripts should be prepared in Microsoft Word.
• Use Times New Roman, 12-point font for the main text.
• Use double line spacing, with 6-point spacing before and after paragraphs.
• Do not indent new paragraphs.
• Text should be left aligned and should not be fully justified.
• Do not include Word headers or footers.
• Use Microsoft Word’s built-in Heading 1 and Heading 2 styles consistently.
• Do not use numbered headings such as 1.1, 1.2, or 1.2.1.
• Subheadings should be italicized.
• Table titles should appear above the table, while figure captions should appear below the figure.
• Tables and figures should be cited in the main text and uploaded as separate files.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permission for any reproduced figures or other third-party material.

5. Style and References

Authors should observe the following conventions:

• Use -ize rather than -ise endings, for example, ‘organization’ and ‘emphasized’.
• Use single quotation marks for quotations, with double quotation marks for a quotation within a quotation.
• Write numbers from one to twelve in words and use numerals for 13 and above.
• Write dates as ‘23 September 1915’.
• Write decades as ‘1880s’, not ‘1880’s’.
• Write ‘twentieth century’, not ‘20th century’.
• Write times as ‘7.30am’.

References cited in notes should be given in full at the first citation and in abbreviated form thereafter. Ibid. should be used only when the citation is identical to the note immediately preceding it.

References in Japanese or other Asian languages should include an English translation of the title in brackets.

Authors are strongly encouraged to consult recently published articles in the Asian Journal of Sport History & Culture for further guidance on the Journal’s style, content, and referencing practices.

6. Submission through ScholarOne

All manuscripts must be submitted through the Asian Journal of Sport History & Culture ScholarOne submission system.

When submitting the manuscript, authors must select:

‘Sports in Japan: Tradition and Modernity’

from the Special Issue title or Special Issue designation menu in ScholarOne. This step is essential to ensure that the manuscript is assigned to the correct Special Issue.

Authors should also follow the Journal’s general online submission requirements and prepare their manuscripts for double-anonymized peer review.

All submissions will be subject to the Journal’s normal editorial assessment and independent double-anonymized peer review. Inclusion in the Special Issue cannot be guaranteed until the manuscript has successfully completed the review process.

7. Timeline

• Final manuscript submission deadline: 31 July 2027
• Peer review and revision: August–October 2027
• Expected publication: November 2027

Authors are encouraged to submit their manuscripts as early as possible. The expected publication date remains subject to the timely completion of peer review, revision, final acceptance, and production.

 

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