First of all, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your valuable contribution and cooperation to the development of the official journal of Japanese Circulation Society, Circulation Journal.

I have been serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Circulation Journal during these past eight years since 2000, and along with our Editorial Committee Members we have now served out our role. Since this month, the Editorin- Chief, the Editorial Committee Member and Editorial Board Member have been replaced by new members.

During these past years, we have changed the journal name from Japanese Circulation Journal to Circulation Journal, and the quality of the journal greatly improved including a great increases in the number of submitted manuscripts and the Impact Factor of the journal (please see the Table).

Approximately the half of the total submitted articles are coming from abroad, so the journal became more international. The impact factor for 2007 has just been reported by ISI, and I would like to make you aware that Circulation Journal has made a great step forwards: impact factor is up from 2.135 in 2006 to now 2.373 in 2007. The official ranking also places Circulation Journal 25th among 74 journals in the Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems Category. I am sure that Circulation Journal becomes one of the leading international journals both in name and in reality. I would like to cordially express my sincere thanks you all for your excellent and persistent contribution to this success. The Editorial Committee Members and I would like to thank all of readers, authors and reviewers for constantly supporting the editorial work and publication of the Circulation Journal during past eight years.

Masunori Matsuzaki, MD, PhD, FJCC, FACC, FAHA
Department of Medicine and Clinical Science Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
Immediate Past Editor-in-Chief of Circulation Journal

It is my great honor to be nominated as the Editor-in-Chief of Circulation Journal by the Chairman of the Japanese Circulation Society, Dr. Satoshi Ogawa, from 2008–2010. Circulation Journal is the official English journal of the Japanese Circulation Society that includes approximately 24,000 active members. Both the quality and the impact of the Journal have been markedly increased thanks to the great efforts of the Immediate Past Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Masunori Matsuzaki, and his Editorial members. I would like to do my best to maintain and further enhance the scientific quality of the Journal so that it can be recognized as one of the leading international journals. Moreover, I would like to make the Journal more attractive and informative for our readers. Finally, I appreciate all the efforts of the Editorial Committee members for their great contributions in the publication of the Journal.

Hiroaki Shimokawa, MD, PhD, FJCC, FAHA, FESC
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Editor-in-Chief of Circulation Journal