October 25, 2011

Journal Editorial Board, Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ)

Regarding Publication of the Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology through Taylor & Francis

After careful examination by the editorial board, a contract has been entered for the printing and publishing of the Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, through a major academic journal publishing company. It will be printed and published starting the 2012 January issue (Volume 49, Issue 1) by Taylor & Francis (a company with headquarters in Great Britain). Accordingly, submission from overseas will be made easier and the journal will become significantly more globalized. In addition, this will also result in advantages listed below. We can look forward to the Society being on a wider, more global stage through this Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology which is considered a world class intellectual property.

(1) Integration into a Global Scale Electronic Journal

Taylor & Francis is one of four major global scale academic journal publishing companies ranked second to Elsevier. Taylor & Francis currently publishes approximately 1,600 academic journals, all of which are available electronically. By publishing through Taylor & Francis, the following series of operations will become smoother: submission, review, editing, English proofreading, creation of electronic journal, print version printing, and shipping. At the same time, journals will be integrated into a global electronic journal network. Remarkable improvement in visibility to researchers around the world can be expected, as well as increased value of the journal. Please note, with the exception of some parts, publication at J-Stage will be discontinued at the end of 2011.

(2) Faster Publication

Currently, journals are published in line with the following processes: submission of the paper-based final draft, English proofreading, photoengraving and printing process, and publication. It takes three to four months from review completion to publishing. However, since it can now be published beforehand electronically, this can be reduced to approximately one month at the shortest. This is a major advantage for authors.

(3) Reduction of Publishing Fees

To raise funds for editing and printing costs (approximately 20 to 25 million yen per year), up until now, authors beared the corresponding costs as a publication charge. By publishing through Taylor & Francis, publication charges can be lowered and the financial burden on contributors will be reduced. Currently, the publication charge for a ten page article is approximately 130,000 yen. This will be reduced by roughly half. (publication charge will be $100 USD per page, which is approximately 75,000 yen at the current exchange rate.)

(4) Maintaining Free Access to Contents

Currently, full-text articles are available to everyone free of charge through J-Stage. Switching to Taylor & Francis will make free unlimited access to full-text articles no longer available, however, it will still be available free of charge to AESJ members and at major libraries in Japan. Overseas, all articles will be available for free after approximately two to three years from publication.

(5) Copyright holder, management of Editorial Board

Article copyrights will be retained by AESJ, and Taylor & Francis will not be involved in the editorial board. The AESJ editorial board’s independence will be maintained.

(6) Yearly Publishing Plan, Color printing

Twelve issues will continue to be published monthly. However, the print volume will combine two issues and will be printed six times per year to save on printing and shipping costs. The electronic version will be published monthly. Number of pages per year is expected to be the same as the current totals (approximately 1300 pages). Use of color figures will be available in the electronic version without added cost. (Color printing cost for printed volume will be charged to authors)

(7) Creation of Archives, Sales

Taylor & Francis will create a database of full-text articles going back to the first issue. As Taylor & Francis' flagship journal for the nuclear energy field, it will be sold aggressively in developed nations. In contrast, it will be available for free or at very low prices in developing nations such as Africa.

[The following items will change]

■　AESJ members

• Individual and student members can view all content free of charge. It can be accessed through the society website's member log-in page.

• Cooperate members will continue to receive the print version by mail. Method of accessing the electronic version is still being reviewed.

■　Regular subscribers

• The society's office will accept registration of regular subscriber members and will also collect fees. Yearly subscription fees for individual and student members will remain the same at 6,000 yen.

• Print version journals will be printed and issued six times per year (with two issues combined in one) and will ship directly from Taylor & Francis.

• The right to access the electronic version will be included.

■　Article contributors

• In the near future, you will be able to submit articles electronically through the JNST site at Taylor & Francis Online. However, it is currently in the midst of a switchover; therefore please submit through the AESJ editorial office for the time being.

• Publication charges will be significantly lower than before. Taylor & Francis will collect the publishing fees.

• A native English writer will perform editorial corrections on all manuscripts, however, please improve the quality of English beforehand as much as possible for a smoother review process.

• Time needed from submission to publication will be shortened. At the "in print" stage, it will be published preceding the final issue of the print and electronic version.

• Color display will be available in figures for the electronic version without extra cost. There will be a separate color printing fee if you wish to have color figures in the print version.

• Authors will receive PDF files of the published article, as well as print version of the issue in which it was published. There will be a separate charge for reprints.

■　Editors and Reviewers

• Article review will be performed through the ScholarOne Manuscripts, article review system provided by Taylor & Francis. Review criteria will remain the same, but the format will change.

• Reviewers will be chosen beforehand from registered members. They can also be newly appointed by the editor.

■　Libraries

• Please contact Taylor & Francis regarding regular subscriptions for the print and electronic versions. We plan to keep at $530 USD. It is available at a lower cost through package deals.

•However, the plan is to make it available for viewing at libraries in major domestic universities and research institutions without having a regular subscription contract (except at libraries that currently have a regular subscription contract). Libraries that currently have purchasing contracts need to renew regular subscriptions. Contract information will be sent from Taylor & Francis.

We plan to provide details continuously at the AESJ journal website at;

 http://www.aesj.or.jp/publication/jnst.html