Introducing Reproductive Medicine and Biology as a completely Open Access Publication

As incoming EditorinChief of Reproductive Medicine and Biology (or RMB), it is my great pleasure to announce that from January 1, 2017, Reproductive Medicine and Biology will become a completely open access publication. The move to full open access will enable readers around the world to access the full content of the Journal at no charge. Reproductive Medicine and Biology was launched as the official Journal of the Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Japan Society of Fertilization and Implantation, and the Japan Society of Andrology in 2002. In 2016, the Asian Society of Endometriosis and Adenomyosis also commenced an affiliation with the Journal. The Journal publishes ~2530 papers per year, including original research articles, review articles, and case reports, on a broad range of subjects that are related to the female and male reproductive systems. In its 15 year history, the Journal has published many important articles that have contributed to the development of the field. Over recent years, the Journal has been emerging as an international opinion leader in the field. The RMBsponsoring and affiliated organizations and the Editorial Board are very proud of the Journal’s achievements in engaging with the international community of scholars and clinicians. We are also excited about this next phase of the Journal’s development and the potential that open access publishing offers. We believe the move to complete open access publishing will strengthen the voice of the Journal internationally. Alongside this exciting development, the Board continues to work towards expanding the number of databases in which the Journal is listed. The Journal is currently listed in a number of services, including SCOPUS, and we are also applying for coverage in PubMed Central, PubMed, and the Science Citation Index. The Journal welcomes new submissions and I am pleased to invite you and your colleagues to submit to the Journal. With the move to open access publication, RMB authors will benefit from having their work freely available to readers around the world. Authors in RMB also enjoy a prompt peer review process, with thoughtful feedback and a rapid speed from acceptance to publication by using Early View. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Imai for his exceptional work over the past 9.5 years as EditorinChief. It is a great honor to have the opportunity to continue his great work. I also look forward to working with our new Editorial team to continue developing the important role that RMB plays in the field globally.