This select list of journals focused on Japanese studies is a good place to start; there are, however, many other journals and magazines which focus on Japan or East Asia. In addition, many scholarly journals, such as Comparative Studies in Society and History or American Anthropologist, have occasional articles dealing with Japan. All of these journals are indexed in the Bibliography of Asian Studies and can usually be found in both general and subject specific databases. Titles marked with * are in JSTOR.

Journals 

All holdings are complete unless specified.

Critical Asian Studies : 2001-present
Formerly Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, 1968-2000
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: B936CA
Born out of the crisis of the Indochina Wars as an attempt to analyze U.S. policy in cold war Asia.  See here for a discussion of its aims and purposes.

Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies *
Harvard-Yenching Institute, Semi-annual, 1936-present
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: H339J
Cumulative index 1936-80; every five years thereafter
Primary focus on premodern history and literature. Extended book reviews.

Japan Echo
1974-present
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: J35EC
Translations of the Japanese press.

Japan Forum
Semi-annual, 1989-present
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: J35B
Published in Britain, provides better coverage of European scholarship than most US based journals.  Includes Japanese summaries. Not indexed in MLA but is covered in other databases for literature.  Only BAS coverage is comprehensive.

Japan Quarterly
1954-2001
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: J35Q
Journal was designed to present Japanese views to the English-speaking world. Covered national politics, economics, diplomatic endeavors, social and cultural events in an easily accessible format. Articles often written by scholars in the field.  Special features included a chronology of recent events and translations of Japanese literary works.

Japanese Studies
Japanese Studies Association of Australia
3 times per year
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: J35Z
Publishes scholarly articles on various aspects of Japan. Includes general editions and guest-edited thematic issues on such themes as postwar politics, environmental issues, popular culture, and literature.Provides access to British and Australian scholarship.

The Journal of Asian Studies *
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: F219E
Covers East, South and Southeast Asia.  The professional journal for the field.  Book Reviews are rather short.  Publishes occasional review articles.

The Journal of Japanese Studies *
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: J86SJ
Exceptional book reviews. State of the field articles.

Monumenta Nipponica *
Quarterly, 1938-present
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: DS821.A1 M6 
Focus on premodern history and literature in Japan. Mid-length book reviews. Reviews Continental European scholarship on Japan better than any other journal.

positions: east asian cultures critique
Durham, N.C., 1993-present 
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: P855D
Seeks to place cultural critique at the center of historical and theoretical practice by accounting for positions as places, contexts, power relations, and links between knowledge and knowers as actors in existing social institutions.

Social Science Japan Journal
1998-present 
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: S678BR 
Provides Full text /PDF and Abstracts from its website.  Focuses on contemporary Japan.  All social science disciplines (economics, law, political science, history, sociology, and anthropology) are represented.  It publishes papers that cover Japan in a comparitive perspective and papers that focus on international issues that affect Japan.

U.S.-Japan Women's Journal. English supplement = Nichi-Bei josei janaru
Semi-annual, 1991-present 
Perkins/Bostock Periodicals: U84A