Are you interested in writing something for Tokyo Review? We welcome submissions and pitches, but have a few guidelines you should be aware of first – especially if you don’t have background or experience in writing op-ed pieces.
Q: What are you looking for?
Analytical pieces with contemporary relevance about Japanese economy, politics and society.
Q: Who is your audience?
Tokyo Review is primarily read by people with an interest in and a knowledge of Japan – mostly professionals with some involvement with the country through business, academia or policy-related work – but we also have a large audience of people who are casually interested in Japan and want to expand their knowledge of the country.
Q: Who can write for Tokyo Review?
We welcome submissions from a wide range of people, and are especially interested in receiving submissions from young scholars and early career academics. If you e-mail us with a submission, please also let us know in a few words in your e-mail why you are the right person to write about your topic.
Pitches and submissions from commercial organisations seeking to use Tokyo Review as a marketing or promotional platform will be ignored.
Q: Do you pay for articles?
Tokyo Review is run on a volunteer basis and is not a commercial publication. The site was supported for several years by a generous grant from the Asia-Pacific Foundation, which was used to offer payment for submissions; however, that funding has now expired. We are actively seeking new grant opportunities, but at present the site does not have any financial backing and cannot pay for contributions.
What should I send?
We strongly recommend that before you start writing, you contact us with a brief pitch outlining what you plan to write, why you are an appropriate person to do so, and any details of how you will go about researching or investigating the topic.
Pieces should generally be limited to under 1000 words, but if you have a great idea for a “long read”, we’d be happy to discuss it with you.
Please provide links in the text where relevant; you don’t need to reference your article like an academic essay, but should provide sources and links to further reading if you can.
If you have a high-quality image suitable for illustrating your article, please send it with the piece. If the image does not belong to you and is not licensed under Creative Commons (or similar), you must show that you have permission to use it.
We’re happy to read any and all submissions, but we reserve the right to edit pieces prior to publication, or not to publish them at all. If major edits are required (i.e. something more than just fixing grammar and expression), we’ll send you comments and suggestions for a revised piece.
