Write for Japonica!

Summary

Japonica is a Medium publication focused on Japanese culture, life, and current events, inviting writers to submit well-informed, respectful articles for a community deeply interested in Japan.

Abstract

Japonica is a Medium-based publication that seeks to explore the multifaceted aspects of Japan, including its culture, language, travel, and current events. The publication is curated by Yuko Tamura, Alvin T., and DC Palter and accepts articles in English, Japanese, and bilingual formats. Japonica prides itself on a high standard of quality, with a rigorous review process that often requires editing and adherence to a specific set of criteria, including the use of copyright-free images and no plagiarism. They publish one spotlight article daily, with a queue time of 1-2 weeks, and actively promote selected articles on social media platforms. Writers are encouraged to engage with the community by following Japonica and its editors on Medium, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as participating in discussions. The publication also provides resources such as a step-by-step guide for submissions and a list of potential topics for those seeking inspiration.

Opinions

The editors of Japonica value the quality of content over quantity, as evidenced by their selective publication process and the emphasis on well-written, informative, and respectful articles.
Japonica's approach to publishing is community-oriented, encouraging writers to become part of a larger conversation about Japanese life and culture.
The publication's stance on copyright infringement is clear, with a strict policy against the use of copyrighted images and a strong emphasis on original content.
The editors prioritize articles that offer a deep and personal understanding of Japan, targeting an audience that includes both Japanese people and non-Japanese with extensive experience in Japan.
Japonica's editorial team is committed to transparency and communication, advising writers to enable private notes for editorial feedback and to provide their social media handles for proper crediting when articles are promoted.
The publication has a preference for previously unpublished content, with special considerations made for articles that have been published elsewhere under certain circumstances.
Japonica's editors recognize the importance of timeliness in their publishing schedule, with spotlight articles being scheduled for early morning release in Japan and promoted accordingly on social media.
The publication actively supports new writers by offering advice on how to be successful on Medium and by providing a list of suggested topics to inspire potential submissions.

Send us your stories on Japanese life and culture

Tsuruga-jō in Fukushima. Photo from Pakutaso.

Japonica is a publication for anything related to Japan: Japanese culture, language, travel, current events, all the wonderful things about life in Japan and as well as the many challenges.

Most of our articles are published in English, though they often include Japanese words or names. However, we happily accept articles in Japanese and bilingual articles in both languages.

Japonica acts more like a print publication than most Medium publications. We publish one spotlight article each day, along with occasional other articles. We actively promote the articles, especially spotlight articles, to our audience on social media.

Consequently, we review articles closely, and may require you to do some editing before acceptance. We also make small edits and corrections ourselves. We are not simply posting your article on our page, but promoting it to our audience. We only accept articles that we’re proud to have our names on.

If your story is accepted as a spotlight article of the day, it will be scheduled for later release. There can be a 1–2 week queue for spotlight articles. If you prefer not to wait, please indicate that with a note in the article or reach out to the editors and it can be added immediately without a spotlight article promotion. Spotlight articles are published early morning in Japan and announced on social media.

We try to respond to all submissions as quickly as possible, almost always within a day. However, Japonica has only 3 editors who have real jobs, so please be patient.

To become a Japonica writer, simply leave a comment to this article. (But leave a comment, don’t just clap.)

For detailed instructions on how to write an article in Medium and submit to our publication, please see this step-by-step guide.

Please follow the publication here on Medium, as well as our 3 editors. We’re more a community of people with deep interest in Japanese life and culture sharing our thoughts and experiences than a website of generic information about the country. We ask you to follow Japonica on Twitter and LinkedIn so you become part of our community. Read the other articles on Japonica and participate in the discussion.

Japonica’s Acceptance Criteria

The article needs to be related to Japan or Japanese culture in some way.

The article must be respectful. Discussions of problems and social ills of Japan are encouraged. Racist screeds are not.

The article needs to be interesting, well-written, and well-informed.

Use only COPYRIGHT FREE images. Please review our image policy. We cannot accept any articles that include copywritten images.

No plagiarism. All sources should be noted.

Follow Medium’s standard formatting: headline, subhead, image, then text.

We strongly prefer submissions of drafts, especially for spotlight articles. Medium does not allow us to schedule previously published articles, so they can only be added as non-spotlights.

We don’t republish previously published articles except under special circumstances. If the article has been published already, please contact the editors prior to submission.

While we don’t have hard rules on article length, 800–1200 words or 5–7 minutes reading time works best for articles on Medium.

Most of our readers are Japanese people or non-Japanese with extensive experience in Japan. We look for articles that show aspects of Japanese life and culture by people who know it well.

If AI was used to generate the article, it must be clearly indicated at the beginning of the article. We generally don’t accept AI-generated material since we want your voice and opinions about interesting topics, not generic content.

Additional Important Notes

Make sure you have “allow private notes” enabled so we can communicate edits and scheduling with you.

Let us know your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts so we can tag you as the author when we promote the article.

Join the discussion of the article on social media and promote the article to your own network, too.

If you’re new to Medium, follow this advice on how to be successful.

If you’d like to write for Japonica but not sure what to write, we’ve compiled this list of 30 possible topics we’d like to see. However, articles are not in any way limited to these specific topics.

We look forward to reading and publishing your articles! どうぞよろしくお願いします。