Editorial

Abstract

Ten years ago, it was widely recognized in Japan that the individual chemical societies that published their own journals faced a great challenge in reaching an international audience. Thus, even though chemists in Japan were already internationally renowned for the high quality and impact of their research—and sheer number of publications in top journals—there was no journal that originated from Japan that reached that same international recognition. It was out of discussions around this situation, led by the Chemical Society of Japan, that The Chemical Record was born. The Chemical Record, or TCR for short, was launched in 2001 as a joint publication representing the diverse chemical societies of Japan, with a readership and authorship comprising scientists from all over the world. The eight Japanese societies that co-own TCR make up the Japan Chemical Journal Forum, which includes: The Chemical Society of Japan; The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry; The Society for Bioscience and Engineering; The Electrochemical Society of Japan; The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan; The Society of Polymer Science, Japan; The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan; and The Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry. This conglomeration of chemical societies came together with a vision of establishing a top highlight journal that serves as an international platform for Japanese chemists to present their most impactful research programs, but which is also attractive for chemists everywhere. The appeal of TCR is that it is not just another collection of review articles—rather, articles in TCR should summarize breakthroughs in chemistry from a personal perspective, with insights and even anecdotes about successes and failures, directly from the researchers (authors) that are driving the development of their field. Now, at the start of 2010 and the journal's 10th volume, it is an appropriate time for TCR to go more international in a very concrete way. Just recently in 2009, the editorial office of TCR was transferred to the offices of Wiley-VCH, where TCR is now published in direct cooperation and synergy with Chemistry-An Asian Journal and Angewandte Chemie. This cooperation carries many advantages: The experienced editorial team of Wiley-VCH ensures that articles submitted to TCR undergo an efficient evaluation process as well as professional editing after formal acceptance. Furthermore, articles published in TCR now receive the widest possible visibility on the international stage, and authors thus have an ideal forum for reaching readers around the globe. Such a platform for exchanging personal views on advancements in chemistry is envisioned to serve as a driving force for shaping future directions of research. It is with this original goal in mind that TCR now introduces its newest section in this issue, the Records & Challenges. This new section includes concise articles that outline the quantifiable upper (and lower) limits, or “world records”, of chemical research and describe such achievements in terms of their significance within a field. Just as importantly, articles in this section should give readers of all fields a handle on what challenges remain and how researchers can go about assessing past achievements while making new achievements. This section should provide an intriguing stimulus for research groups and offer some guidance toward the development of new breakthroughs. The first article in the Records & Challenges section can be found in this issue of The Chemical Record. Please see the inaugural Record article by Daisuke Uemura and Masaki Kita on the longest carbon chains in natural products on page 48 ff. There has been an amazing change in chemical literature in recent years. Nowadays, young people have stopped subscribing to journals, stopped reading the paper, and only use their computers to check the EarlyView/ASAP section of journals. And a major journal of ACS has stopped printing, which I feel is a rather stupid decision but it is certainly what the chemical world has shifted to. Under such timing and ages, I believe it would be even more important to sit down and think deeply and slowly about the challenging problems of chemistry. Under such a flood of new information, time passes so quickly especially if we waist our time on peripheral problems. I believe the role of The Chemical Record, the flagship journal of accounts and reviews of Japan, is thus becoming more important and significant.