Operational Guidelines on Reporting a Conflict of Interest (COI), Japan Neuroscience Society
Effective as of October 1, 2014

(Declaration of Conflict of Interest by Self-Report)

Article 1 The provisions of the Basic Guidelines concerning “persons subject to the Guidelines,” “activities subject to the Guidelines” and “matters that fall under the matters to be declared” shall apply mutatis mutandis to the disclosure of conflict of interest (COI) situations by self-report.

(Submission of a Declaration of Conflict of Interest by Self-Report Form by Officers, Committee Members, etc.)

Article 2 The persons subject to the Guidelines listed in the preceding article who are officers, committee chairpersons and committee members and are designated by the Board of Directors as “persons subject to the Guidelines” as they require particular management (hereinafter referred to as the “Committee Members, etc.”) shall declare the existence or non-existence of COI to the President of the Society by submitting a “Declaration of Conflict of Interest by Self-Report (attached sheet, Form 1)”.
2. The Declaration of Conflict of Interest by Self-Report under the preceding article shall state COI during the past year and shall be submitted to the Administrative Office of the Society at the time a person assumes the office of officer or Committee Member, etc.
3. When changes in COI occur after the acceptance of the office of officer or Committee Member, etc., a Declaration of Conflict of Interest by Self-Report shall also be submitted.

(Matters to be Declared at the Time of Contribution to the Society’s Journal, etc.)
Article 3 Matters concerning COI in relation to contributions to the Society’s journal, “Neuroscience Research,” shall be prescribed by separate rules.

(Method of Disclosure at the Time of Announcement at a Conference, etc.)
Article 4 When giving a presentation at the Annual Meeting, COI of all authors in relation to the contents of the presentation for a period of one year prior to the submission of the abstract shall be indicated by checking that COI to be declared either “Exists” or “Does not exist” in the Title Registration Screen. If “Exists” is checked, COI shall be declared to the Administration Office of the Annual Meeting by submitting a “Declaration of Conflict of Interest (attached Form 2)” or by any other method similar thereto. The method of declaration shall be determined by the Administrative Office of the Annual Meeting. The disclosure of COI at the time of presentation or lecture at a luncheon seminar, etc., shall be separately prescribed at the time of the Meeting. When giving a presentation, if there was any COI in the past year in relation to a business enterprise, organization or group related to the contents of the presentation, the presenters shall disclose the contents of COI described in attached Form 2 by indicating such fact at the beginning of the presentation slides or at the bottom of the poster. The presentation slides shall not be stored.

(Handling of a Declaration by Self-Report Form)
Article 5 A Declaration of Conflict of Interest by Self-Report submitted pursuant to the provision of Article 2 shall be deliberated by the Ethics and CIO Committee, as needed.
2. The COI Committee shall report the results of the deliberation to the President of the Society. Any self-report indicating the existence of a serious COI shall be reported together with the opinions of the COI Committee on the measures to be taken.

(Measures for Violators)
Article 6 When the contents of a self-report indicating the existence of a COI are in violation of these Guidelines, the Ethics and COI Committee shall thoroughly investigate the matter, conduct a hearing and draft a proposal for appropriate disciplinary actions and report the matter to the President of the Society and the Board of Directors.

(Appeal)
Article 7 When an appeal requesting a review is received, the President of the Society shall promptly form the Appeal Review Committee (consisting of several members of the Society appointed by the President; the Chairperson of the Committee shall be selected among from the members; and members of the Ethics and COI Committee may not be a member of this Committee). The Committee shall hold a meeting within thirty days after receiving a request for review, and shall conduct the review and submit its findings to the President of the Society within one month thereafter.

(Criteria requiring COI Self-Reporting)
Article 8 For officers and advisors of a business enterprise, organization, or any other for-profit group related to medical research (hereinafter referred to as a “Business Enterprise, Organization or Group”), the amount of compensation from each Business Enterprise, Organization or Group is ¥1,000,000 or more per year.
2. In relation to shareholding, profit (sum of dividends and profits on sale) from shares of one business enterprise is ¥1,000,000 or more in one year, or when 5% or more of all shares of one business enterprise are held.
3. In relation to royalties for patent rights received from a Business Enterprise, Organization or Group, the annual royalty from a single right is ¥1,000,000 or more per year.
4. In relation to per-diem compensation (such as lecture fees) paid by a Business Enterprise, Organization or Group for the researcher’s time and labor associated with attending a meeting (presentation), the total lecture fees paid by one Business Enterprise, Organization or Group is ¥500,000 or more per year.
5. In relation to manuscript fees paid by a Business Enterprise, Organization or Group for the authoring of pamphlets, etc., the total manuscript fee paid by one Business Enterprise, Organization or Group is ¥500,000 or more per year.
6. In relation to research fees provided by a Business Enterprise, Organization or Group, the total amount paid by one Business Enterprise, Organization or Group for medical research (contracted research fees, joint research fees, etc.) is ¥2,000,000 or more per year.
7. In relation to a scholarship (grant-in-aid) provided by a Business Enterprise, Organization or Group, the total amount paid by one Business Enterprise, Organization or Group to the declarer as an individual, the department (course, field) to which the declarer belongs or the representative of the laboratory is ¥2,000,000 or more per year.
8. The declarer is affiliated with the endowed lecture provided by a Business Enterprise, Organization or Group.
9. In relation to the provision of trips, gifts or other items not directly related to the research, other than the above, the total amount received from one Business Enterprise, Organization or Group is ¥50,000 or more per year. However, regarding 6 and 7, self-reporting is required in cases where research expenses, scholarship donations or other items have been provided by a Business Enterprise, Organization or Groups with which there is a COI relationship that should be disclosed in connection with the presentation of the research results, to the chief presenter him/herself or the department (course, field) or laboratory to which the chief presenter belongs.

(Cooperation of the COI Committee with Other Committees, etc.)
Article 9 In following these Guidelines, the Ethics and COI Committee shall maintain close communication with the Neuroscience Research Editorial Committee and other committees and the Administrative Office of the Annual Meeting of the Society.

(Revisions to Guidelines)
Article 10 These Guidelines shall be periodically reviewed, and revised as needed. Revisions of these Guidelines shall be approved by the Board of Directors.

Supplementary provisions
1. These Guidelines shall come into effect as of October 1, 2014.
2. After a two-year trial period beginning October 1, 2014, these Guidelines shall be fully enforced. The two-year trial period shall also be a get-acquainted period for members to become familiar with the measures for violators; and after a resolution is passed at the general meeting, warnings and recommendations shall be given to the said members.
3. A Declaration of Conflict of Interest by Self-Report required to be submitted by the current directors, committee members and other relevant persons in accordance with the provision of Article 2 shall be promptly submitted after the implementation of these Guidelines.