JASE Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Purpose.
This policy exists to facilitate the impartiality of research and protect the safety and human rights of research participants by ensuring transparency with regard to conflicts of interest within JASE activities.
2. Definitions.
In this policy, a conflict of interest (“COI”) is when one of the activities listed in section 4 is in conflict with the financial benefit that an individual listed in section 3 obtains from a company or organization engaged in commercial operations, which can hinder the fairness and impartiality required by public research.
3. Applicable Individuals.
This policy applies to:
  1. (1) all Members affiliated with the JASE;
  2. (2) non-Members who publish papers in the JASE's academic journals or at its research conferences; and
  3. (3) any other individuals who execute the work necessary to achieve the goals of the JASE.
4. Applicable Activities.
This policy applies to:
  1. (1) presenting research at academic conferences or hosting symposiums, lectures, etc.;
  2. (2) publishing research papers or other reports in academic journals etc.;
  3. (3) conducting research and surveys;
  4. (4) conducting collaborative research with foreign and domestic academic societies;
  5. (5) promoting research and awarding research achievements;
  6. (6) training; and
  7. (7) other work necessary to achieve the goals of the JASE.
5. Member Obligations.
Members have the following obligations.
  1. (1) When submitting a paper to the JASE's Journal of Special Education Research, Members shall disclose in the text of the paper whether there are any COI and notify the chairperson of the editorial committee of those details.
  2. (2) When presenting research at academic conferences, symposiums, or lectures, Members shall explicitly state in the manuscript submitted for the event whether there are any COI.
6. Obligations of Directors etc.
The JASE board of directors, the Standing Editorial Committee, and the chairpersons of academic-conference committees have the following respective obligations.
  1. (1) The chairperson of the board shall review matters related to COI within the JASE and take appropriate action via resolutions of the board of directors.
  2. (2) If there are suspicions of a violation of the JASE Conflict of Interest Policy in papers submitted to the JASE's journals, the chairperson of the editorial committee for Japanese and English texts will report them to the Standing Editorial Committee.
  3. (3) If there are suspicions of a violation of the JASE Conflict of Interest Policy, the person in charge of ethics reviews of manuscripts submitted for research conferences (a director, representative, etc.) will report them to the director that oversees general affairs.
  4. (4) If there are suspicions of a violation of the JASE Conflict of Interest Policy in a presentation given at an academic conference, the chairperson of the conference committee or the person in charge of such matters will report them to the director overseeing that conference.
7. Responding to Conflicts of Interest.
Any suspicion that arises of a violation of the JASE Conflict of Interest Policy within JASE activities will be handled as follows.
  1. (1) For papers that are suspected of violating the JASE Conflict of Interest Policy, the Standing Editorial Committee will verify their contents, take steps such as instructing them to be rewritten, and determine whether to accept the papers in accordance with section 4-4-2 of the JASE Ethics Regulations.
  2. (2) If there are suspicions of a violation of the JASE Conflict of Interest Policy in a manuscript submitted for a research conference, the chairperson of the board and the director that oversees general affairs will verify its contents, direct it to be rewritten, and take other steps such as prohibiting it from being published.
  3. (3) If there are suspicions of a violation of the JASE Conflict of Interest Policy in the research presented at an academic conference, the chairperson of the board and the director in charge of that conference will verify its contents, instruct the presentation to be revised, and take other steps such as prohibiting it from being presented.
  4. (4) If the steps taken in (1) through (3) do not eliminate the suspected violation of the JASE Conflict of Interest Policy, further steps will be taken based on the regulations of the JASE Ethical Response Committee.
8. The JASE may enact the bylaws necessary to apply this policy.
9. Revising this policy or its bylaws requires approval from the board of directors.