Gikai Commons Editorial Committee Charter v1.0

Version: v1.0 Planned effective date: 2026-09-01 (formal adoption at the first meeting after the chair appointment) Issuer: ISVD

Article 1 (Purpose)

This charter defines the composition, operations, compensation, and governance of the editorial committee of Gikai Commons (the nationwide database of local assembly statements, formerly named Machikarte). It institutionalizes trust in Gikai Commons as a neutral infrastructure and distributes decision-making away from the sole concentration on the Representative Director.

Article 2 (Role of the editorial committee)

The committee carries the following responsibilities.

1. Final oversight of L2-L3 cases (legislator-statement assessment, policy assessment, election-related, and person-identifying information) in Gikai Commons public content.
2. Monitoring compliance with and reviewing revisions to the editorial guidelines.
3. Editorial direction of transparency reports.
4. Neutral oversight of core assets such as the legislator-ID registry.
5. Triage and reflection of user feedback.

Article 3 (Adoption of editorial guidelines)

At the first meeting, the committee formally adopts Gikai Commons Editorial Guidelines v1.0. After adoption, the following operating rules apply.

• All content (ISVD-bylined content, AI dialogue, externally syndicated content) follows the guidelines.
• The A/B/C classification rules, three-axis judgment criteria, special rules for legislator pages, press-collaboration rules, and pre-publication checklist function as the committee's judgment basis.
• Guideline revisions follow Article 11 of this charter.

Article 4 (Composition and headcount)

The committee is structured in four layers.

Total: Phase 1 = 7 members / Phase 2 = 11-12 members. External researchers and practitioners constitute the majority.

Article 5 (Compensation)

5.1 Three-tier structure with phased rollout

5.2 Annual budget (reference)

• Phase 1 (7 members): approximately JPY 820,000
• Phase 2 (11-12 members): JPY 2.0 million to 2.3 million
• Phase 3: JPY 2.66 million to 4.12 million

5.3 Intellectual recognition (for pro bono / low-cash members)

The following recognition complements unpaid or low-cash participation.

• Co-authorship on "Gikai Commons Editorial Compendium" and transparency reports.
• Joint attribution on peer-reviewed papers and academic presentations.
• Editorial member attribution on journals and contributed articles.

5.4 Payment flow

Service agreements between ISVD and each member. Monthly or annual invoicing. Accounting handled through freee.

Article 6 (Term)

• All positions: 2 years (renewable, with a 3-term / 6-year maximum in principle).
• Renewal of the chair requires endorsement by the academic advisory board.
• Mid-term resignation requires three months' notice as a rule.

Article 7 (Operations)

7.1 Regular meeting

• Once per month, 60 minutes, online (Google Meet).
• Overall direction plus high-priority cases only.
• Absence permitted (participation via minutes plus asynchronous comments).

7.2 Asynchronous operations

• Case queue: GitHub Issues with labels (L0-L3 auto-routing; editorial members self-assign).
• Discussion: Discord public channels or Slack private; opinions converge within 24-72 hours per thread.
• Decision records: GitHub Discussions or Notion, fully public.
• Academic advisory meeting: once per year, in-person with Zoom relay.

7.3 Involvement of the Representative Director

• Weekly 30-minute sync with the chair.
• Optional attendance at the monthly regular meeting.
• Final approval reserved only for material decisions (dissolution, downsizing, legal disputes).

Article 8 (Conflict-of-interest prevention)

8.1 Disclosure obligation

Members disclose the following upon appointment, using the separately defined disclosure template.

• Political party affiliation history.
• Public office history (past 5 years).
• Material interests in the past 3 years (consulting, advisory, equity holdings, etc.).
• Relationships with major incumbents in the parliamentary-data consulting sector.

8.2 Restriction of voting rights

Members with suspected conflicts of interest are excluded from votes on the relevant matter.

8.3 Relationship with affiliated entities

• The editorial committee of ISVD (neutral infrastructure) and any affiliated paid-services entity are operated as separate legal entities.
• The editorial committee shall not import client influence from the paid-services entity into its decisions.
• Where the Representative Director concurrently leads both entities, conflict-of-interest transactions require approval from the academic advisory board or an independent director.

Article 9 (Transparency)

9.1 Editorial committee transparency

• Public roster (on the ISVD official site).
• Public minutes of the monthly regular meeting.
• Public annual activity report.

9.2 Decision logs

• All L1-L3 decisions are logged publicly on GitHub Discussions or Notion (excluding personal information).
• Aggregated in the quarterly transparency report.

9.3 Governance improvement

• Feedback channel for committee operations: our contact form.
• Annual self-assessment plus external review.

Article 10 (Removal)

A member may be removed by resolution of the editorial committee or the academic advisory board in the following cases.

1. Violation of the disclosure obligation under Article 8.
2. Material violation of the editorial guidelines.
3. Continuous inactivity for 6 months or more.
4. Joining a political party or assuming public office (loss of neutrality during the term).
5. Any other conduct materially damaging trust in the committee.

Article 11 (Revisions to the charter and guidelines)

11.1 Revisions to this charter

• Annual review.
• Revision proposals require approval by two-thirds of the editorial committee plus advice from the academic advisory board.
• Revision history is published in the transparency report.

11.2 Revisions to editorial guidelines

• Quarterly review by the editorial committee.
• Revisions are finalized after advice from the academic advisory board.
• Revision history is published in the transparency report.

Article 12 (Handover upon dissolution)

If ISVD is dissolved, the committee's activities are handled as follows.

• Past decision logs and transparency reports are permanently archived to Internet Archive and Zenodo.
• Successor candidates among civic tech organizations, universities, and research institutions are approached.
• Members are notified six months before dissolution.

Article 13 (Supplementary provisions)

13.1 Transitional measures

During the period before the chair is appointed (from the beta release on 2026-06-05 until appointment), the Representative Director serves as interim editor under the following conditions.

• L2-L3 decisions are taken after consultation with academic advisors (Professor Satoshi Machidori, Professor Jouji Shishido, Professor Katsuya Hirose, and others).
• The transitional period lasts no later than the end of 2026.
• The editorial guidelines are observed during the transitional period.

13.2 Agenda for the first meeting

After the chair is appointed, the first meeting addresses the following.

1. Formal adoption of this charter (procedure under Article 11.1).
2. Formal adoption of Editorial Guidelines v1.0 (Article 3).
3. Selection of three editorial members (Phase 1 scale).
4. Selection of three additional academic advisors.
5. Selection of one to two legal members (pro bono attorneys).
6. Editorial direction for the inaugural transparency report.

Revision history

• v1.0 (drafted 2026-06-01; planned formal adoption at the first meeting around 2026-09)
• 2026-09-18 name carried over: the platform this charter governs was renamed from Machikarte to Gikai Commons. This follows the 2026-07-16 decision to split Machikarte into Kousou0 (the municipal chart) and Gikai Commons (the nationwide database of local assembly statements); the matters this charter governs (legislator-statement assessment, the legislator ID registry, and so on) belong to Gikai Commons. No article was altered, so the version stays at v1.0 and the Article 11 revision procedure does not apply.