Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 13:45:05 +0530 From: Krishnan Interesting news item from Science =96 12th March 2004 issue TOKYO--Does a country need to publish its own internationally recognized journals to be a scientific power? Last month a group of Japanese scientists debated that question at a symposium and wound up offering a tentative "yes." Supporters argued = that publishing a top-tier international journal in English would benefit = efforts to disseminate the country's scientific achievements and strengthen = Japanese scientists' ability to evaluate and communicate research results. But = they readily admit that they have yet to address sizable logistical and = financial hurdles that such an endeavor would entail. The meeting, sponsored by an ad hoc group and held at the high-level = Science Council of Japan (SCJ), reflects growing concern about the health of the country's scientific publications. Japanese researchers and officials = are proud of the growing number of Japanese papers in top journals overseas, = and they note that the quality of an individual's publication record has = become an important element in promotion and grant decisions. Shun-Ichi Murahashi, a professor emeritus of chemistry at Okayama = University of Science and a member of an SCJ committee studying the issue, says = that the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), for example, has = grown in the last decade in part by boosting the number of papers by = Japan-based researchers. According to ACS, their share rose from 8.7% in 1997 to = 11.6% last year. "Overseas journals seem to be expanding by including more Japanese papers," Murahashi says. Over the same period, the number of Japanese authors on research papers in Science has grown by roughly = half, although the overall number of published papers has held steady. But some scientists believe that those developments mask an alarming = decline in the health of Japan's own scientific publications. The = English-language Journal of the Physical Society of Japan lost one-third of its = subscribers during the 1990s, Murahashi says, and experienced a comparable decline = in the number of papers published and their impact factor. Similar trends = are occurring at most Japanese journals. Murahashi welcomes the growing number of Japanese scientists on review boards and in editorial positions at foreign journals. But the decline = of domestic journals, he warns, shrinks the country's pool of research "assets." "It's quite clear that we need to start our own international journals," he says. Some speakers believe that a Japan-based international journal would = also result in a fairer shake for Japanese and Asian researchers. Ryoji = Noyori, a 2001 Nobel laureate in chemistry who leads the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), says that "the review process at foreign = journals is a black box" for many Japanese scientists, and he and others say they still hear occasional complaints about reviewers poaching research = results before the paper has been published.=20 Kiyoshi Kurokawa, a professor of medicine at Tokai University and = current SCJ president, is wary of such claims. He suspects that they date from decades ago and no longer reflect current practice. Instead of = complaining, he urged those interested in starting a new journal to first understand = "why Nature and Science have survived and have readers willing to pay for = their subscriptions." Both journals, he says, have earned a reputation for fairness and excellence.=20 If Japan decides to start such a journal, he suggested that it be electronic. He pointed to the popularity of J-STAGE (for Japan Science = and Technology Information Aggregator, Electronic; www.jstage.jst.go.jp), a portal that provides access to the publications and news of more than = 140 Japanese societies. Each society determines what content will be = available through J-STAGE, which is operated by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), an affiliate of the Ministry of Education, and whether any restrictions should apply. In addition to making the material more accessible domestically, J-STAGE has greatly increased the foreign readership of Japanese journals. The print version of Cell Structure and Function, published by the Japan Society for Cell Biology, had a 97% Japanese readership, he notes, whereas 92% of the readers of the online version--with free and full access--are from overseas.=20 Whether electronic or print, a new journal will be expensive. Koichi Kitazawa, executive director of JST, shocked the audience by estimating = that an $18 million annual subsidy would be needed to create an interdisciplinary, international journal. His estimate, which includes = some sort of incentive plan to support successful research teams, is intended = to send a message "to people who think that it is possible to launch such a journal easily." And whereas RIKEN's Noyori believes that "strengthening = the dissemination of scientific information" should be a government = priority, Tokai's Kurokawa would prefer to see the journal pay its own way. Supporters of the idea haven't yet asked the government for money. But = one of the science community's best friends in the diet (legislature) has already signaled his support for the idea. "I recognize the need to strengthen Japan's efforts to broadcast Japanese research results to the world," Koji Omi told participants. As an added boost, Omi also proposed that granting agencies give greater weight to domestic publications when deciding which scientists to fund. Dr. S. Krishnan Head, Information Division=20 National Chemical Lab, PUNE 411008, INDIA e-mail: HYPERLINK "mailto:krish@ems.ncl.res.in"krish@ems.ncl.res.in HYPERLINK "http://www.ncl-india.org"http://www.ncl-india.org Tel: 020-25893457; Fax: 020-25893973 ---