The information described herein is subject to change without prior notification.
[Last Revised on August 17, 2023]

1. General guidelines

1.1 Type of manuscript

The manuscripts published in the Transactions are categorized as PAPER or WRITTEN DISCUSSION. PAPER is further classified into (regular) PAPER, SURVEY PAPER, or POSITION PAPER.

1.1.1 PAPER

PAPER: Includes reports on research, developments, and examinations in the specific fields shown in the category list, as detailed below, the contents of which may advance the development of science and industry:
(1) Reports on new theories, experiments with new content, or extensions of and supplements to conventional theories and experiments.
(2) Reports on developments in measurement technology and various applied technologies.
(3) Reports on the planning, design, manufacture, testing, or operation of facilities, machinery, parts, materials, and others.
(4) Presentation of new methods, suggestion of new angles, ideas, systematization, software, or any new facts regarding the above (1) to (3).

SURVEY PAPER: Includes the following, targeting the same range and content as those in PAPER:
(5) Reports that reflect a set understanding of the field involved, and effectively respond to inquiries from researchers or other involved parties about the significance of the field. In short, reports that support entries by new researchers, development by on-site researchers and applications by involved parties in that field.
(6) Reports that differ from tutorials (explanatory articles appearing in journals) in that they demand a high caliber of technical knowledge. In short, reports that envision readers as specialists in the field, place their focus on the classification of existing documents, provide overviews of the field, evaluate the latest trends and cover other areas in that field.
(7) Reports targeting major and large-scale fields (areas in which numerous readers have an interest) that effectively develop a basic framework or overall image of that field. In short, summary introductions that will hopefully encourage new research and otherwise supply readers with high-level assessments of the field, while systematically presenting existing research from a set perspective.

POSITION PAPER: Articles with at least one of the following features and potentially having a significant influence on the theory and practice of communication technology.
(8) Introduction of novel viewpoints, frameworks, and/or paradigms
(9) Proposal of technologies or methods based on innovative ideas (not simply extensions of existing technologies)
(10) Novel ideas with the potential to bring about innovative technologies
(11) Prototypes or experimental results with noteworthy features, such as achievement of the world's best performance or the world's first realization

Comprehensive evaluations of the proposed viewpoints, frameworks, paradigms, or ideas are not necessarily required. In view of this criterion, POSITION PAPERs are assumed to be shorter (around 6 pages) than PAPERs (standard number of pages is 8), although there is no restriction on the number of pages.



1.1.2 WRITTEN DISCUSSION

WRITTEN DISCUSSIONs are aimed at presenting opinions on articles published in the Transactions as well as raising readers' critical intellect through completely objective discussions.

1.2 Scope

IEICE Transactions on Communications is an all-electronic journal published occasionally by the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) and edited by the Communications Society in IEICE. IEICE Transactions on Communications publishes original, peer-reviewed papers that embrace the entire field of communications, including:

- Fundamental Theories for Communications
- Energy in Electronics Communications
- Transmission Systems and Transmission Equipment for Communications
- Optical Fiber for Communications
- Fiber-Optic Transmission for Communications
- Network System
- Network
- Internet
- Network Management/Operation
- Antennas and Propagation
- Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
- Wireless Communication Technologies
- Terrestrial Wireless Communication/Broadcasting Technologies
- Satellite Communications
- Sensing
- Navigation, Guidance and Control Systems
- Space Utilization Systems for Communications
- Multimedia Systems for Communication

Military technology is outside the scope of IEICE Transactions on Communications. IEICE Transactions on Communications will not reject a submission the basis of the source of research funding or the affiliation of authors. If necessary, IEICE Transactions on Communications will negotiate with authors.

1.3 Recommendation for non-members to join the IEICE

If there are non-members among the authors, we recommend that the authors take this opportunity to join the IEICE. For detailed information on the IEICE Membership Application, go here. If all authors are non-members, the article processing charge for non-members will be applied, except for invited papers. Also note that OMDP (Overseas Membership Development Program in Section 5.2) is inapplicable if all authors are non-members.

1.4 Originality of manuscript

1.4.1 Copyright Compliance

(1) Comply with the IEICE Provisions on Copyright.
(2) Do not submit content identical or extremely similar to material that has already appeared under the name of another author(s). Do not reproduce copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holder.
(3) Even if you are the author(s) of a manuscript, do not submit it if copyright problems exist, for example, if the copyright is held by a body other than the IEICE and cannot be transferred to the IEICE.
(4) In cases deemed to comprise plagiarism, penalties identical to those assessed in the event of duplicate submission shall be applied.


1.4.2 No Duplicate Submissions

If a submitted material satisfies either conditions (1) or (2) below and at least one author fulfills these conditions, the IEICE will consider the material submission to be a "DUPLICATE SUBMISSION" even if it does not violate "1.3.1 Copyright Compliance". In this case, the IEICE will apply a strict penalty to the author(s) of the submitted material. The IEICE does not consider the written language, but is concerned about the similarity of semantic content.

(1) Material submitted to the IEICE is identical or extremely similar to material that has already appeared or is under review in any other journal or elsewhere.
(2) Material submitted to any journal or elsewhere is identical or extremely similar to material that has already appeared or is under review in the IEICE.

Here, "under review" means the state from its submission to one of publication, rejection, or withdrawal. Notwithstanding the above, a submission will not be treated as a duplicate submission if such material falling under the above conditions satisfies at least one of (a) to (f).

a) A patent publication gazette or the like
b) A university undergraduate thesis, master's thesis, doctoral thesis, technical report, etc.
c) The abstracts, proceedings, etc. of a meeting, or seminar of the IEICE or other academic organization
d) A book, a corporate technical journal or bulletin etc.
e) A newspaper article or the like
f) A preprint server of a highly public nature, the author's own home page or the like

Note that refereed materials among (a) to (f) above must be cited in the submitted material as footnotes or references.

Manuscripts based on previously published conference papers are eligible for consideration for publication by the journal if there is new material added. If a submitted manuscript is based on a previously published conference paper(s), the authors must cite their previous work, and provide an explanation of the new material within the submitted manuscript. When an author reuses text, figures, tables, photographs, or other graphics from his/her own previously published material, the author shall
1. clearly indicate all reused material and provide a full reference to the original publication of the material, and
2. if the previously published material is used as a basis for a new submission, clearly indicate how the new submission differs from the previously published work(s).

* As indicated in 1.1.1, POSITION PAPERs may be published even if comprehensive evaluations of the proposed viewpoints, frameworks, paradigms, or ideas are not presented. We encourage extended versions of POSITION PAPERs based on the same approach but with the associated thorough evaluations to be submitted to IEICE Transactions on Communications as a PAPER. In this case, note that the original POSITION PAPER must be appropriately referred to in the PAPER.

1.5 Counter measures against duplicate submission

If a manuscript is suspected of being a duplicate submission to any other journal, the IEICE Editorial Committee has the right to investigate the situation by exchanging information with the Editorial board of the journal concerned. When the duplicate submission is confirmed by discreet inquiries, the IEICE Editorial Committee will apply the following sanctions against all the authors of the manuscript.
(1) Immediate rejection of the manuscript in question, as well as immediate rejection of all other manuscripts under review that include at least one of the authors of the manuscript in question.
(2) Prohibition of any new submissions to all IEICE transactions and journal for a term of one year or less.
(3) Notification to the Editorial board of the journal concerned about the duplicate submission.
(4) Publication of a notice announcing the cancelation of the paper (or written discussion) as well as the cancelation on the publishing web sites (IEEE Xplore, J-STAGE and IEICE Transactions Online), in the case that the manuscript has already been published in our transactions.

1.6 Protection of Personal Information

Sufficient care must be exercised when submitting a manuscript bearing personal data such as photographs or names to the transactions. If necessary, written permission must be obtained from the individual(s) concerned.

1.7 Open access publishing

All papers after February 2024 are open to all readers in the world through IEEE Xplore. Note that this rule may be changed without notice.

1.8 Ethical considerations in research involving human and animal participants

The author(s) must obtain approval from the ethics committee or the equivalent organization within the author's institution for research related to living organisms or the life activity of the participants. However, if the authors in the group belong to different institutions, it is sufficient to obtain approval from at least one of the institutions.

2. Process for Initial Submission of a Manuscript

STEP 1: Register Basic Information, and STEP 2: Register Detailed Information

First, the author(s) must fully assent to IEICE policy. Then, the following information must be provided.

1. Target journal (IEICE Transactions on Communications)/Section (Regular Section/Special Section)
2. Title of the manuscript
3. Personal information on each author: name, affiliation, membership status, and membership number
4. Detailed information on the corresponding author: affiliation, department, tel/fax number, and e-mail address
5. Type of manuscript (Paper/Invited Paper/Technical Committee Recommended Paper/Survey Paper/Position Paper).
  ATTENTION: "WRITTEN DISCUSSION" cannot be selected at this phase. Please follow the special instruction on the page.
6. Research field (Editorial Subject Index) chosen from the list in Appendix D.
7. Summary and keyword(s)
8. The Manuscript ID of the previously submitted manuscript if a re-submission.

STEP 3: Submit Manuscript

Upload a PDF file (limit: 10 MB) for review and editable electronic files (limit: 10 MB per file) for publishing in accordance with the instructions. If the file size exceeds the limit, please contact the IEICE Transactions Section.
Authors who would like to include their Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) in the published manuscript are required to upload the following item (as one of the editable electronic files):
- a text file named "ORCID.txt" containing alist of the name and ORCID of each author in the following format:
Name of author 1, ORCID of author 1
Name of author 2, ORCID of author 2
***
Note that ORCID will not be included in advance publication articles.

The article processing charge will be calculated in accordance with the format (LaTeX or Word) of the electronic source files. Electronic source files using the IEICE LaTeX style file will result in a lower article processing charge for the author(s) than will those using the Word format. Because the author(s) cannot alter the files once a "Receipt of Manuscript" e-mail is sent, using the IEICE LaTeX style file at the time of submission is recommended to those author(s) who desire a lower article processing charges.

STEP 4:Copyright Transfer and Article Processing Charge Agreement

The author(s) must agree to the "Copyright Transfer and Article Processing Charge Agreement" by clicking the checkbox on the "Manuscript Registration Form."

After we receive your manuscript, a "Receipt of Manuscript" will be sent to you by e-mail within one week. Please use your Reference Number specified in the "Receipt of Manuscript" if you want to know the review status of your manuscript or when asking questions concerning it. In case you have difficulty submitting your manuscript via our web site or you do not receive the "Receipt of Manuscript," please contact the IEICE Transactions Section.

3. Manuscript Style Specifications

Submit a PDF file of the manuscript created by converting the manuscript prepared using the IEICE LaTeX style (ver. 2.2 for PLaTeX2E recommended) to PDF. This PDF file will be referred to in the preparation of the final published version. In the case of a manuscript submitted after a conditional acceptance, the revised parts must not be highlighted in the PDF file of the manuscript to be included in the editable electronic files. Diagrams created in the LaTeX environment, as well as figures produced electronically and then imported into the text in EPS or other format, must be output as they are. In the case of diagrams that cannot be thus imported into the text, enter the diagram number at the appropriate point in the text, along with the caption, leaving enough space for the diagram. Then, in the margin of the PDF file of the manuscript, enter the number of the diagram to be inserted. When submitting the electronic data of the manuscript and accompanying diagrams, please keep the following in mind:
(a) Attach a LaTeX source file used to produce the PDF file of the manuscript in (1). There is no need for figures and such imported in EPS format to be deleted from the source. Nonetheless, be sure to attach the EPS file of the relevant figures in order to prevent errors during compilation.
(b) Save figures and photographs in EPS format. No EPS file is required for figures created using LaTeX functions such as the Picture environment, Pictex, and Epic.
(c) Insert tables directly in the source file of the text using the LaTeX table environment. Tables created using other software can be imported into the text in EPS or other format, in which case an EPS file of the relevant tables must be attached.
(d) The minimum line width for figures and photographs in the final published version is 0.1 mm; please keep the scale ratio in mind when preparing your manuscript. If preparing figures or photographs in an application that does not allow you to adjust the line width numerically, do not use the smallest line width.



3.5 When using MS-Word Template file

Submit a PDF file of the manuscript created by converting the manuscript prepared using the MS-Word template to PDF. This PDF file will be referred to in the preparation of the final published version. In the case of a manuscript submitted after a conditional acceptance, the revised parts must not be highlighted in the PDF file of the manuscript to be included in the editable electronic files. In the case of diagrams that cannot be imported into the text, enter the number of the diagram at the appropriate point in the text and leave enough space for the diagram. Then, in the margin of the PDF file of the manuscript, enter the number of the diagram to be inserted. Manuscripts prepared using the MS-Word template are converted to LaTeX format at the editing company. When preparing the data, therefore, please keep the following in mind.
(a) Save the data with a filename and extension.
(b) Save figures in EPS format, except those created in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint must be saved in their respective special formats.
(c) Save photographs in EPS format. In the case of photographs saved in PICT format, a resolution of around 300 dpi is recommended.
(d) For tables, save just the contents of each table in text file format, deleting information on layout such as lines and borders. Lay out the contents as in the original table.
(e) Save all data for figures, photographs, and tables together in a single folder separate from the file containing the main text. Moreover, in an appropriately named text file, save the name (version) of the software used to create the figures and photographs, along with the names of the fonts used.
(f) During the preparation of your manuscript, remember that the minimum line width that can be used for figures and photographs in the final published version is 0.1 mm. If using an application that does not allow you to adjust the line width numerically, do not use the smallest line width.



3.6 Style for figures, photographs and tables

1. All figures, photographs, and tables must be original works of the author(s).
2. All figures, photographs, and tables must have captions.
3. Figures, photographs, and tables must be neat.
4. Color figures, color photographs, and color tables can be included in the manuscript.
5. Electronically produced figures and photographs must be saved on appropriate media for the relevant computer environment. Please note that extremely thin lines and half-tone dot meshing will not appear in the final publication.
6. Figures, photographs, and tables must have a width of 8 cm if they are to occupy one column and a width of 16 cm if they are to occupy 2 columns. In the case of submission of these items in hard copy, they must be the same scale as of the publication.
7. Printed characters in figures and tables must be 7-point size (minimum).


3.7 References


3.7.1 Style for references

References must appear in the format given below. In the case that cited references are written by coauthors, family names and initials of given name for each authors must be given. Titles of journal papers must be all lowercase except for the first letter of the first word. Exceptions are also made for abbreviations and proprietary names. The journal names must be abbreviated as shown in Appendix C: Abbreviated Journal Names. Items referenced must be limited to material that is easily accessible by the public at the time of publication of your paper.
Since web pages are subject to revision and deletion, citations of URLs should be avoided if at all possible, except in the case of standard-setting organizations and other bodies that publish documentation on their web pages.

Journal papers
[1] H. Rice, A. C. Wine, and B. D. Grain, "Diffusion of impurities during epitaxy," IEICE Trans. Fundamentals, vol.E103-D, no.3, pp.284-290, 2020.

Books or edited collections
[2] M. G. F. Fuortes, ed., Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1972.

One section of a book
[3] H. K. Hartline, A. B. Smith, and F. Ratlliff, "Inhibitory interaction in the retina," in Handbook of Sensory Physiology, ed. M. G. F. Fuortes, pp.381-390, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1972.

Conferences
[4] Y. Yamamoto, S. Machida, and K. Igeta, "Micro-cavity semiconductors with enhanced spontaneous emission," Proc. 16th European Conf. on Opt. Commun., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, no.MoF4.6, pp.3-13, Sept. 1990.

Web pages
[5] Copyright Management Committee, "Standards for requesting the use of copyrighted articles etc. published in the Japanese and English IEICE publications (Except the IEICE Technical Report)," Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, https://www.ieice.org/eng/about/explanation_table3.html, accessed Aug. 3. 2009.

3.7.2 Articles with digital object identifier (DOI)

If an article has a DOI, its inclusion in the citation is recommended.

Example
[6] I. Yamagami and J. Yamashita, "A Medium Access Control Protocol for Cognitive Radio Networks," IEICE Trans. Commun., vol. E62-B, no. 1, pp. 20-27, Jan. 2014. DOI:10.1587/transcom.2014EBP0001

3.7.3 Citation of references

References must be cited by number in brackets, e.g. [12]. Superscript format must not be used.

4. Galley Proofs

5. Article Processing Charges

5.1 Article processing charges

5.2 Overseas Membership Development Program (OMDP)

NOTE: Because of the recent rapid economic development of China and Singapore, applications from members of these countries for the IEICE Overseas Membership Development Program (OMDP) are no longer accepted as of April 2011. (The OMDP discount on article processing charges is not provided to author(s) whose manuscript was submitted after April 1, 2011 (JST).)
Also note that the OMDP is not applicable if all authors are non-members

6. Copyright

(1) When transfer of the copyright of the manuscript to the IEICE is difficult for any of the following exceptional reasons, a report must be submitted at the time of initial submission to the IEICE Transactions Section for further discussion.

7. Review Process

7.1 Review criteria

1. Originality: Has/Have the author(s) contributed original work that has added new information or knowledge to previous work?
2. Practicality: Are the results useful from an academic or industrial viewpoint?
3. Reliability: Are the results reliable from the readers' viewpoint?

For POSITION PAPERs, only papers having the significant feature(s) defined in Section 1.1.1 will be accepted, although comprehensive evaluations of performance or effectiveness will not be required.

7.2 Decision to accept for publication

1. Acceptance:
Tha manuscript is accepted if it meets the overall criteria described in Section 7.1,and is judged to be of interest to the readers of IEICE Transactions.

2. Conditional acceptance:
Tha manuscript is conditionally accepted if it, in its present form, does not meet the overall criteria described in Section 7.1, but is judged to be capable of meeting them with revision. The conditional acceptance is made only once, and a revised manuscript (described below) that fails to satisfy the conditions will be rejected.

* Revised manuscript submission
A revised manuscript must be resubmitted within 60 days of the date of acknowledgement of Conditional Acceptance. If the 60 days limit is exceeded, and there are no extenuating circumstances, then the manuscript will be considered as a new submission. The time limit may be shortened for Special Sections (Special Issues). The author(s) must attach an accompanying letter to the Associate Editor indicating how they have revised the manuscript in accordance with the Reviewer's and Associate Editor's comments.
NOTE : When revising the manuscript, be aware of the following.
* When the authors make any additions or corrections, the section(s) must be marked so that the Reviewer can clearly identify the changes made.
* Asa a rule, no change in the list of authors is permitted. If authors would like to change the list of authors, the authors must withdraw their submitted paper in accordance with 7.5 Withdrawal of Submission. Then the authors must resubmit the modified paper as a new paper along with a revised form of "Copyright Transfer and Article Processing Charge Agreement" after changing the list of authors.

3. Rejection:
Tha manuscript is rejected if it does not meet the overall criteria described in Section 7.1 and would require major revisions with excessive editing, or if the subject matter is outside the scope of IEICE Transactions.

7.3 Resubmission

7.4 Request for Reconsideration

(a) Written requests shall be accepted for reconsideration. The deadline for submission is within 60 days of the date of the rejection notice. When requesting reconsideration, no amendments or additions to that manuscript shall be accepted.
(b) The Editorial Committee shall carefully study the claims and if they must be recognized as being appropriate, the rejected manuscript shall be reconsidered.
(c) The procedures for reconsideration of the manuscript shall be in accordance with the normal review procedures.
(d) Requests for reconsideration shall be limited to one request per manuscript.

7.5 Withdrawal of Submission

1. Authors must send a withdrawal request letter by e-mail as an attached scanned PDF file or by FAX to the IEICE Transactions Section before the notification of acceptance for publication. The withdrawal request letter must include the following information.

(a) Paper number
(b) Paper title
(c) Authors names
(d) Reason(s) why the paper must be withdrawn
(e) Date and signatures of all the authors (or signature of the corresponding author)

If only the contact author signs the letter, he/she must obtain the agreement of withdrawal from all the other authors and the letter must include the statement that all the other authors agree to the withdrawal.

2. After the paper is accepted for publication, withdrawal is not permitted, in principle. The authors must pay the article processing charge even when withdrawal is permitted.

3. The Editor-in-Chief of the Transactions decides whether withdrawal is allowable or not. The IEICE Transactions Section will send the authors notice of the decision of the Editor-in-Chief. If the authors do not receive any reply from the IEICE Transactions Section, they must send an inquiry about the withdrawal to the office.

4. The date of the withdrawal will be given in the notice of permission to withdraw.

5. Any request of withdrawal that does not follow the above procedure is treated as invalid.
If illegal submission, e.g., plagiarized or duplicate submission, is found for a paper, the withdrawal of the paper will not be permitted and the authors will be penalized accordingly.

8. Advance publication (from October 16, 2023)

Style for listing cited advance publication articles:
[1] I. Yamagami and J. Yamashita, "A Medium Access Control Protocol for Cognitive Radio Networks," IEICE Trans. Commun., Jan. 2014. DOI:10.1587/transcom.2014EBP0001

Style for listing cited articles after official publication:
The same as that for advance publication articles, or,
[2] I. Yamagami and J. Yamashita, "A Medium Access Control Protocol for Cognitive Radio Networks," IEICE Trans. Commun., vol.E62-B, no.1, pp.20-27, Jan. 2014. DOI:10.1587/transcom.2014EBP0001

9. Multilingual translation and limited-time open access trial