The Journal of Digital Life aims to provide authors in academia, private enterprise, and public institutions a forum for their multidisciplinary research and endeavor.
The Journal, which publishes articles online as soon as they are ready, brings together a broad global audience of the public, researchers, policymakers and those in the private sector.

All manuscript submitted in accordance with the submission guidelines of the Journal of Digital Life are subject to peer review.

The journal uses single anonymized peer review. When a manuscript is submitted to the journal, the Editorial Office assigns it to an Editor with expertise in the relevant subject area. The Editor then selects two appropriate reviewers to assess the manuscript. The deadline for submitting reviewer reports is 2 weeks, regardless of the article type.
Once the reviewers’ reports have been received, the Editor determines whether the manuscript should be accepted, rejected, or revised. Authors who are asked to revise their manuscript must do so within 2 weeks, otherwise it may be treated as a new submission. The Editor may send revised manuscripts to peer reviewers for their feedback or may use his or her own judgment to assess how closely the authors have followed the comments on the original manuscript. The Editor then makes a final decision on the manuscript’s suitability for publication in the journal.

One of the Editors-in-Chief acts as an arbitrator when necessary.

Matters that violate the submission guidelines shall be dealt with by the Editor in charge prior to peer review.

Reviewers are selected based on their expertise in the field, reputation, recommendation by others, and/or previous experience as peer reviewers for the journal.

Reviewers are asked to submit their first review within 2 weeks of accepting the invitation to review. Reviewers who anticipate any delays should inform the Editorial Office as soon as possible. This will allow us to keep the authors informed and make alternative arrangements if necessary.

When submitting a manuscript to the journal, authors may suggest reviewers that they would like included in or excluded from the peer review process. The Editor may consider these suggestions but is under no obligation to follow them. The selection, invitation and assignment of peer reviewers is at the Editor’s sole discretion.

It is the journal’s policy to transmit reviewers’ comments to the authors in their original form. However, the journal reserves the right to edit reviewers’ comments, without consulting the reviewers, if they contain offensive language, confidential information or recommendations for publication.

If a submitted or revised manuscript satisfies the journal’s requirements and represents a significant contribution to the published literature, the Editor may decide to accept it for publication in the journal.

If a submitted or revised manuscript satisfies the journal’s requirements and represents a significant contribution to the published literature, the Editor may decide to accept it for publication in the journal.

Articles in the journal must be:

• • within the subject area of the journal’s scope
• • novel and original
• • descriptions of technically rigorous research
• • of high interest to the journal’s audience
• • important additions to the specific field explored in the manuscript.

Secondary publications are considered as per the details in the ‘Secondary publication’ section.

If a manuscript does not meet the journal’s requirements for acceptance or revision, the Editor may decide to reject it.

The journal maintains the confidentiality of all unpublished manuscripts. Editors and reviewers will not:

• • disclose a reviewer’s identity unless the reviewer makes a reasonable request for such disclosure
• • discuss the manuscript or its contents with anyone not directly involved with the manuscript or its peer review
• • use any data or information from the manuscript in their own work or publications
• • use information obtained from the peer review process to provide an advantage to themselves or anyone else, or to disadvantage any individual or organization
• • share or upload the content of the manuscript to any AI tool or public platform.

In addition, reviewers will not reveal their identity to any of the authors of the manuscript or involve anyone else in the review (for example, a post-doc or PhD student) without first receiving permission from the Editor.

A conflict of interest exists when there are actual, perceived or potential circumstances that could influence an editor or reviewer’s ability to act impartially when assessing a manuscript. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) having a personal or professional relationship with an author, working on the same topic or in direct competition with an author, having a financial stake in the work or its publication, or having seen previous versions of the manuscript.

Reviewers and members of the journal’s Editorial Board undertake to declare any conflicts of interest when handling manuscripts. An editor or reviewer who declares a conflict of interest is unassigned from the manuscript in question and is replaced by a new editor or reviewer.

Editors try to avoid conflicts of interest when inviting reviewers, but it is not always possible to identify potential bias.

Any member of the journal’s Editorial Board, including the Editor-in-Chief, who is an author on a submitted manuscript is excluded from the peer review process. Within the journal’s online manuscript submission and tracking system, they will be able to see their manuscript as an author but not as an editor, thereby maintaining the confidentiality of peer review.

A manuscript authored by an editor of the journal is subject to the same high standards of peer review and editorial decision making as any manuscript considered by the journal.

The journal will respond to allegations of ethical breaches by following its own policies and, where possible, the guidelines of COPE.

Editorial Office
Journal of Digital Life
Email: info-digitallife[at]sankei.co.jp (Please replace [at] with @)

These guidelines are enacted from September 1, 2021. The same shall apply to manuscripts that are currently under review at the time of the implementation of these guidelines.

Revised on July 6, 2022.
Revised on September 30, 2022
Revised on April 1, 2025