March 5, 2019
Revised: February 27, 2023

Transformation from subscription model toward OA publishing model～JUSTICE OA2020 Roadmap～
The JUSTICE OA2020 Roadmap, first announced in March 2019, was revised as follows in viewof changes in the activities of JUSTICE and the circumstances surrounding it.
1．Background
JUSTICE has the mission of enhancing the nation's academic information infrastructure bycontracting, managing, providing, and preserving e-resources. Under this mission, JUSTICE has
undertaken negotiations with publishers, mainly focusing on big deal subscription models. As aresult, our member libraries succeeded in restraining their expenses, increasing the number ofavailable e-resources, and closing the gap in academic information environment betweenmembers. However, subscription costs have been increasing because of continuous price increase
and the quantitative growth of academic journals. Therefore, it has become ever more difficult tokeep subscription contracts not only in Japanese universities or research institutions but also inother countries around the world.
One of the fundamental solutions against this challenging situation is to transform thesubscription model into the OA publishing model( 1). OA2020( 2) is one of the leading global
initiatives to accelerate such transformation. Several European countries, which support theinitiative, aim to transform subscription journals of big publishers to OA with the OA publishingmodel, and they are working to conclude a transformative agreement with political or financial
support( 3) by countries or funders.
2. Purpose of our roadmap
JUSTICE has seen that there is no other way to overcome the situation except to consider newmodels, and has been gathering information about worldwide trends. As part of information
gathering, we endorsed the OA2020 Expression of Interest in 2016, and we have analyzed
Japanese financial and publication data to confirm the feasibility of transformation. Creating theJUSTICE OA2020 Roadmap is following this work. Our goal is to clarify the way to go throughthe transition period until a fully OA publishing model can be realized. Academic institutions,including Japanese ones, have already paid APCs(4) in addition to subscription fees as the costof scholarly communication, and total amount of these costs have been increasing. If we leave
the cost increases unchecked, we will not be able to keep the subscription model (cannot read)or pay for APCs (cannot publish). We need to shift our axis from read to publish to avoid thisfuture, and at the same time, we have to find a model which is able to manage the total cost ofpublication (subscription fees plus APCs).
3. Creating roadmap and the future
There are some concerns(5) about the OA publishing model, for example, concentration ofAPC revenue or APC price increase could decrease competition and make the market moremonopolistic. The amount of spending on publishers may not decrease easily, and institutions
may need to change their budget allocation and workflow. However, OA published research
output can be used by everybody for free. Regarding this point, scholarly communication would1

be improved compared with the current subscription model. In addition, the OA publishingmodel will bring transparency and inject healthy competition by allowing comparison andchoice. As a result, this flow of transformation should decrease publication costs and release themoney which is tied into subscription fees to enhance the new scholarly information
infrastructure.
Academic research and scholarly communication is expanding across borders and, therefore, it
becomes more important to align with international trends to maintain the scholarly information
infrastructure in Japan. To achieve our mission within the conversion of scholarly
communication, we, JUSTICE hope that the Roadmap will enable member libraries to deepen
their understanding, further negotiate with publishers, and take the opportunity to cooperate withstakeholders including other member universities.
Since releasing the Roadmap in March 2019, JUSTICE has been engaging in negotiations
concerning OA publishing models with publishers based on its clear negotiation policy.
Consequently, several publisher proposals have been agreed upon, with an increasing number ofmember libraries entering into contracts in recent years. In addition, researcher communities andgovernment agencies in Japan have announced their recommendations and requests concerning
OA publishing, and some universities and institutions have even concluded independent OA model
agreements with publishers that have not made a proposal to JUSTICE. However, in European
countries that have been spearheading the transformation to OA publishing models the number of
OA papers (especially those published in “hybrid” journals) has been rising significantly fasterthan in Japan, driven by strategies implemented by their governments and funders. For Japan toshare its research outcomes with the world beyond paywalls and increase its global
competitiveness, OA is becoming even more imperative. In light of such circumstances, we haverevised our OA2020 Roadmap as outlined in the next section.
4. JUSTICE OA2020 Roadmap

 Data Analysis/evaluation
The data necessary for negotiation is accurate data on subscription fees, publication output, APC
expenditure, etc. We will continue to constantly monitor publication output trends, costs, OA
progress, etc. Moreover, in collaboration with member libraries that have entered into agreements
on OA publishing models, we will investigate the changes in costs resulting from the2transformation to an OA model and evaluate the respective models. We will continue to collect,organize and analyze the relevant data, and share the information with member libraries.
 Pilot and expansion toward OA publishing model
We will continue to undertake pilot programs to realize an OA publishing model agreement in aneffort to expand the initiative. As part of our pilot programs, we will accept variable transformativeagreements(6) which can achieve total cost management, as well as transformative OA proposals
in parallel with a subscription model or proposals that target specific universities, and engage innegotiations for an OA publishing model agreement. When a consensus/agreement has beenreached on an OA publishing model, we will request that the model be improved throughnegotiation in view of the results of analysis and evaluation, and gradually expand the refinedmodel to other publishers. JUSTICE will support groups of universities in negotiating for their
desired agreement, and use the experience and outcomes gained in its own activities. While closely
monitoring the evaluation of each publisher’s OA model, the progress made in the transformation
toward OA, and the circumstances in Japan and other countries, we will flexibly revise ournegotiation policy.
 Optimization of subscription fees and APCs, and grant
Optimizing subscription fees and APCs is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed in Japan. To
accelerate the transformation toward an OA publishing model, each university needs to change
their way of budget allocation and flip from subscription spending to OA support expenses.
Additionally, universities that have a high publication output may need additional budget, because
the money they currently spend on subscriptions may not be enough for the conversion( 7). In
overseas cases, funding agencies support these universities. In order to promote these actions, wewill continue our advocacy activities targeting various stakeholders.
 Consensus & Cooperation
If we regard boycotting journal subscriptions, peer review, and/or editing journals as our options
when publishers do not accept negotiation for an OA publishing model, not only the libraries but
also researchers’ support is necessary. We will work with the president and/or top management ofuniversities, the Japan Association of National Universities, the Japan Association of Public
Universities, the Japan Association of Private Universities and Colleges, as well as the Associationof Private Universities of Japan(8).
 Supplementary Actions
・Expand national license of back files to realize OA for articles published in the past.
・Take part in other types of OA model, such as library subsidy models, to promote OA of academic
outputs which APC does not fit for publication(9).
・Develop an alternative scholarly publishing platform( 10) that is academic community based.

3Open Access is a mechanism by which research outputs are distributed online, available free ofcharge to everybody. Providers needs to cover the publishing cost in some way to give freeaccess to users. The OA publishing model is a model in which costs are based on “publishing”
research outputs rather than based on “reading”.
(2)
A global initiative coordinated by the Max Planck Digital Library on behalf of the Max Planck
Society. See also their FAQ. https://oa2020.org/learn_more/#frequently(3) cOAlition S is a consortium providing political/financial support. cOAlition S has a target that
“With effect from 2021, all scholarly publications on the results from research funded by public
or private grants provided by national, regional and international research councils and funding
bodies, must be published in Open Access Journals, on Open Access Platforms, or madeimmediately available through Open Access Repositories without embargo.” and 10 principles,
called Plan S. They are calling funding agencies around the world to join.
(4)
Article Processing Charge is a fee for publishing research output. Generally, researchers pay
APCs when they publish their articles in OA, which is called the “Author pays” model.
(5) See OA2020 FAQ for concerns about monopolization or APC price increase.
https://oa2020.org/learn_more/#frequently(6) During the transformative period from subscription to OA publishing, various hybrid models
including both elements (subscription and OA) can be expected, for example, Read & Publish
model, APC discount, or voucher based on subscription spending.
(7) Based on study by JUSTICE, some Japanese universities may need a grant to cover APC costs
because they are higher than their subscription expenses. OA2020 considers these cases as well.
See more details in their FAQ. https://oa2020.org/learn_more/#frequently(8) In Germany, there is nationwide licensing project called Project DEAL, and the German
Rector’s Conference plays a large role within the project.
(9) SCOAP3 and Diamond OA (OA models that require neither subscription fees nor APCs; mostly
funded by third parties) are examples of non-APC based OA publishing models. For questions
about disciplines that the author pays model may not fit, see FAQ.
https://oa2020.org/learn_more/#frequently(10) Institutional Repositories and the J-STAGE, platform for journal publishing carried by theJapan Science and Technology Agency, are examples of alternative scholarly publishingplatforms.
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