Editorial Independence Policy

Editorial independence is a fundamental principle of the JSMS. The journal does not permit interference from the publisher, management, sponsors, or any external parties in editorial decision-making.

All manuscripts published in JSMS undergo peer review and are assessed by independent academic editors and reviewers. Journal administrative staff are not involved in decisions regarding the acceptance, revision, or rejection of manuscripts.

Editorial decisions are made solely based on scholarly merit, including:

• The appropriateness and suitability of selected reviewers;
• The adequacy and quality of reviewer comments and authors’ responses;
• The overall academic quality, originality, and rigor of the manuscript.

In all aspects of its operations, JSMS is guided by its mission to promote the dissemination of high-quality, ethical, and accessible scholarly research.

Editors, editorial board members, and journal staff shall not be involved in the editorial processing or decision-making of manuscripts in which they are authors or have a conflict of interest. To maintain strict editorial independence, JSMS does not publish manuscripts authored by its editors, editorial board members, or journal staff and may guide such authors to suitable alternative publication venues.