Requirements and Procedure for ISSN Registration

The Japanese National Centre assigns an ISSN only when there is a request from a publisher or an agent of the publisher who made some contribution for editing, production, printing, etc.

The Japanese National Centre is in charge of and accepts ISSN applications only for publications published in Japan.

The Japanese National Centre for ISSN is currently registering serial publications* and ongoing integrating resources** which are published in Japan:

* Serial publications include periodicals, newspapers and monographic series, etc.

** Ongoing integrating resources such as loose-leaf publications or databases can also be assigned ISSN.

Continuing resources eligible for registration can be published in any of the following media:

• -Printed publications
• -Packaged electronic publications (CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, magnetic discs, etc.)
• -Publications in other physical media (microfilms, braille materials, etc.)
• -Network electronic publications (online journals, databases, etc.)

• Publications in physical media (printed publications, packaged electronic publications, microfilms, etc.):
  Must meet the criteria for the legal deposit system in Japan and actually be held or will be held by the NDL.
  For details, please refer to "Request for Deposits" (in Japanese).
• Online journals which satisfy the following three conditions:
  
  1. be published in separate volumes
  2. show a place of publication in Japan
  3. display the ISSN and title of the online journal on its homepage or the page listing all the volumes of the journal
  In some cases, back issues must also be available online. Please contact the Japanese National Centre for ISSN for details.
• Databases which satisfy the following three conditions:
  1. currently published on a continuous basis
  2. indicate the frequency
  3. indicate the latest date of updating

ISSN are assinged only at the request of an applicant.

The Japanese National Centre for ISSN considers only the publisher or an agent of the publisher who has participated in the editing, production, and printing or otherwise contributed to the creation of a publication as qualified applicants.

When applying for an ISSN for an existing publication that has not yet been submitted to the NDL under the Legal Deposit system, the applicant is required to send all existing past issues with the application or separately.

After reading the description "Outline of the Requirements for ISSN Application", fill in the ISSN application form (web) to apply for an ISSN if your publication is appropriate for an ISSN:

• ISSN Application Form (web)

You can also send us the ISSN application form by e-mail, by fax or by postal mail:

• ISSN Application Form (RTF: 165KB)
• ISSN Application Form (PDF: 151KB)
• Instructions (PDF: 114KB)

In general, the applicants are informed of the ISSN by advance notice within about one week of receiving the application. In the case of publications already published but not yet possessed by the NDL, please send us the past issues as far back as possible for legal deposit. ISSN will be announced within about one week of receiving both the application and the past issues.

In Japan, ISSN are assigned and maintained free of charge.

The NDL welcomes inquiries on application and any other matters about ISSN.

The assigned ISSN should be displayed on the serial or other continuing resource.

For printed publications, packaged electronic publications, microfilm, or other physical media, please display the ISSN on the publication and send it to us as legal deposit.

For online journals, please display the ISSN on the web site and notify us of publication.

An ISSN consists of two groups of four digits separated by a hyphen and is preceded by the prefix ISSN in upper case separated by a space, as shown in the following example.

Example: ISSN 0914-6601

For serials and other continuing resources in more than one media that have separate ISSN for each media, the individual ISSN may be displayed together. Each ISSN must be displayed with qualifying information, as shown in the following example.

Example:
ISSN 1234-5678 (Print)

ISSN 1234-5555 (Online)

For print publications, the ISSN should be displayed in the top right-hand corner of the front cover. If this is difficult due to design considerations or for other reasons, the ISSN may be printed in another prominent position on the front cover, the back cover, the title page, or the colophon.

Example:

For CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and other packaged electronic publications, the ISSN should be displayed on the disc label, the disc case, the title screen, or other prominent position.

Example:

For online journals, the ISSN should be displayed with its corresponding title on the journal's top page or on a page containing a list of published issues.

Example:

Japanese National Centre for ISSN
Serials and Non-book Materials Division, Acquisitions and Bibliography
Department, National Diet Library
Fax: +81-3-3581-1330
E-mail: issnjpn