The Aim of Kyoto University Open Access Policy

Abstract

This article introduces ideas and practices behind Kyoto University s Open Access Policy established in April, 2015. Kyoto University was the first Japanese university that implemented open access (OA) policies to make its scholarly articles freely accessible. This implementation has garnered wide media attention, encouraging other research universities to follow the same action. The article describes basic ideas behind Kyoto University s OA policy as well as recent developments in Japan. It also discusses what obstacles Japanese universities encounter as they endorse OA policy against multiple stakeholders in the academic publishing industry. It finally suggests what can be done to improve the whole OA system, especially in relation to potential conflicts over copyrights between universities and academic associations.