Rules of Operation of Japan Link Center
Established by the Steering Committee of Japan Link Center (JaLC) on
January 16, 2013
RevisedRevised(August 4, 2016

by the JaLC Steering Committee)(July 11, 2017 by the JaLC Steering Committee)

Revised(September 12, 2017 by the JaLC Steering Committee)

Revised(October 1, 2019by the JaLC Steering Committee)

The Japan Link Center (hereinafter referred to as “JaLC”) Steering Committee
specifies the necessary matters (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules") as follows, inorder to maintain the transparency and the smooth operation of JaLC by the JaLC
Secretariat (hereinafter referred to as “the Secretariat”) as well as to maintain fairness
and neutrality so as to avoid conflicts of interest among regular members (i.e., those whohave become regular members of JaLC based on the Terms of Participation in Japan
Link Center [hereinafter referred to as “the Terms”]).
(Objectives of services)
Article 1

JaLC provides the services to manage all or part of the following (hereinafterreferred to as “the“Services,” which shall be discussed in greater detail in the Terms ofParticipation): Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) assigned to academic papers (including
information attached to papers such as figures and tables), books, patent information,
research data, etc. published in Japan (hereinafter referred to as “Content”);
bibliographic data (i.e., data separately specified by JaLC, that is, a document’s title,
author, journal name, volume, issue, starting page, ISBN, ISSN, etc.); information that
identifies the location of the Content such as its internet address (URL) (Uniform
Resource Identifier [URI]); information on citations (e.g., cited references or cited dataof each content); abstracts.
(Secretariat)
Article 2 (1) JaLC shall be operated by the Secretariat.
(2) The Secretariat carries out the following tasks related to JaLC:(i) Operations as a DOI registration agency(ii) Development, operation, and administration of the Services(iii) Clerical work related to the conclusion of contracts, memorandums, etc. with third
parties that provide services associated with the Services-1-

(iv) Presiding, convocation, and clerical work of the Committee, subcommittees, andMember Meetings(v) All other clerical work related to the operation of JaLC
(3) The Japan Science and Technology Agency shall serve as the Secretariat and carryout the work described in the preceding paragraph.
(Establishment of the Committee and its responsibilities)
Article 3 (1) The Japan Link Center Steering Committee (hereinafter referred to as the“Committee”) was established to promote the smooth and effective operation of JaLC.
(2) The Committee deliberates on the following matters and makes decisions based on
the consensus of the committee members, in principle:(i) Matters concerning the JaLC management policy(ii) Technical matters regarding the system to be installed by JaLC for the Services(iii) Matters related to membership requirements(iv) Other matters necessary for the management and operation of JaLC
(3) With respect to the matters in the preceding items, those implemented by each joint
operating organization shall be subjected to the approval process specified by eachorganization.
(4) The Secretariat shall operate JaLC in accordance with a decision under the preceding
paragraph.
(5) The chairperson may call for the presence of outside experts at the Committee andsolicit their opinions, as necessary.
(6) In addition to the Rules, the matters necessary for the management of the Committee
shall be determined by the chairperson.
(Committee composition)
Article 4 (1) The Committee consists of one chairperson and one or more committee
members. Its term of office shall be one year from April 1 of the year to March 31 of thefollowing year. However, this does not preclude reappointment.
(2) The four “Joint Operating Organizations” stipulated in “the Memorandum ofUnderstanding regarding the Management of the JaLC Project,” which was concluded
on May 28, 2012, (i.e., the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the National Institutefor Materials Science, the National Institute of Informatics, and the National Diet
Library) and an organization or organizations selected from regular members by theconsensus of the Committee [hereinafter collectively referred to as “the Organizations
that appoint committee members”]) shall appoint one committee member from each-2-

Organization. If the term of office of a committee member expires before the next
appointment, then the person who is a committee member shall continue to perform
his/her respective duties until the next committee member is duly appointed by theOrganization that appoint committee members.
(3) The chairperson shall be decided by mutual election of the committee members.
(4) The chairperson may appoint a vice-chairperson from the committee members. Thevice-chairperson assists the chairperson and takes over the chairperson’s duties in
his/her absence.
(5) Changes in the number of committee members or the Organizations that appointcommittee members shall be decided by the consensus of the Committee.
(6) If there is a vacancy in the committee, the Organizations that appoint committee
members may appoint a substitute member. In this case, the term of the substitutemember shall be the remaining term of his/her predecessor.
(Establishment of a subcommittee)Article 5-1(1) The Committee may establish a subcommittee as a subordinate

organization to facilitate its deliberation.
(2) The establishment and abolition of a subcommittee shall be determined by thechairperson, in consultation with the Committee.
(3) The chairperson shall appoint the committee members of the subcommittee and thechief of the subcommittee. Its term of office shall be from its date of appointment toMarch 31 of the following year. However, this does not preclude reappointment.
(4) The chief shall report the result of deliberation of the subcommittee to the Committee.
(5) The chief may call for the presence of outside experts at the subcommittee and solicit
their opinions, as necessary.
(6) If there is a vacancy in the subcommittee or its chief, the chairperson may appoint
the substitute. In this case, the term of the substitutes shall be the remaining term of
their predecessors.
(Establishment of a working group)
Article 5-2 (1) The Committee may establish a temporary working group to facilitate
further consideration of a specific subject.
(2) The establishment and abolition of a working group shall be determined by thechairperson, in consultation with the Committee.
(3) The Committee shall appoint the working group leader.
(4) The working group shall be composed of the members of the Steering Committee and-3-

persons elected by the members of the Steering Committee.
(5) The working group leader may call for the presence of outside experts at the working
group and may solicit their opinions, as necessary.
(Establishment of a special subcommittee)
Article 5-3 (1) The Committee may establish a special committee to promote activities
related to a special subject.
(2) The establishment and abolition of a special committee shall be determined by thechairperson, in consultation with the Committee.
(3) The special subcommittee shall have a chairperson and a planning committee set up
to facilitate efficient and effective operations.
(4) The special committee may call for the presence of a wide range of persons other thanmembers at the subcommittee to help further promote the activities.
(5) The chairperson of the special subcommittee shall report the status of activities tothe Committee as needed.
(Confidentiality of committee members, etc.)
Article 6 (1) The chairperson, the vice chairperson, the committee members, and thechiefs and the members of the subcommittees shall not disclose, publicize, or leak any
confidential information in relation to the Committee and the subcommittees that they
may become aware of; neither shall they use it beyond the purpose of the establishmentof the Committee. The same shall apply after their retirement.
(2) The chairperson and the chief shall request the outside experts who attend theCommittee and the subcommittee to comply with the same confidentiality obligations as
those in the preceding paragraph.
(Member meeting)
Article 7(1) The Secretariat shall hold a meeting (hereinafter referred to as "MemberMeeting") once a year, where regular members are supposed to attend.
(2) Regular members can express their opinions openly on the management andoperation of JaLC during a Member Meeting, and the Committee shall take these
opinions into account when determining the management policy of JaLC.
(3) The Secretariat may allow associate members stipulated in Paragraph (2) of Article
9 of the Terms of Participation to attend a Member Meeting if they wish.
(4) The Secretariat may hold a Member Meeting when it deems necessary, regardless ofthe provisions of Paragraph (1).
-4-

(5) In addition to the matters specified by the Rules, the Secretariat shall determine thenecessary matters pertaining to the management of a Member Meeting.
(Revision and abolition of the Rules)
Article 8 (1) Revision and abolition of the Rules shall be determined by the Committee.
(2) When the Rules are revised or abolished based on the preceding paragraph, theSecretariat will notify regular members by e-mail and post the changes on the JaLC
website where it can be viewed by the regular members.
(3) The revision or abolition of the Rules shall take effect one month after the notification,
based on the preceding paragraph.
(Supplementary provision) The Rules will be effective from April 1, 2020.

-5-