Toward Becoming the Leading Journal in Architectural Academia-Update of Editorial Board, Papers of the Year 2024, and the Most Cited Paper

Japan Architectural Review (JAR), the official international journal of the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ), was launched in January 2018 and is in its eighth year in 2025. JAR's overarching objective is to disseminate the latest research results on architecture in Japan to academia worldwide. JAR is a unique journal, covering a wide and complex range of architectural studies, including the latest trends in architectural technology and architectural and design trends in Japan.

The choice of the name “Japan” for this journal's title reflects two major aspirations. One is the “Japan” of the AIJ, and the other is the strong focus on information dissemination from Japan to the world. JAR has a unique purpose and management structure, specializing in the dissemination of information from Japan to the world, rather than expecting papers to be submitted from all over the world. JAR accepts the risk of a limited number of contributions and publications; however, it supports the development of architectural engineering and sciences in Japan.

Eight years after its launch, JAR is steadily growing and obtaining recognition in architectural academia worldwide. The number of paper submissions has steadily increased. Although the majority of submissions were translated papers when the journal was first published, the number of original submissions has exceeded the total number of editions. To appropriately respond to the increase in submissions and contributions from diverse fields of architecture, the Editorial Board was strengthened in 2025. Satoru Takada (Kobe University) will join as AE in the environmental field, and Taishi Watanabe (Waseda University) and Kozo Kadowaki (Meiji University) will join in the design field. Koichi Yasuda (Institute of Science Tokyo) has moved to become an Honorary Editorial Advisory Board Member, and Shin-ichi Tanabe (Waseda University) stepped down from the EIC to concentrate on AE in the environmental engineering field, with Kazuhide Ito (Kyushu University) taking sole charge of the EIC.

Since 2018, JAR has awarded the Best Paper Award to the most outstanding and qualified papers. This year, JAR Editors-in-Chief (EICs) and Associate Editors (AEs) conducted a rigorous and thorough review of the papers published in 2024. We are excited to announce the winners of the 2024 Best Paper Award. All 52 papers published in Volume 7, Issue 1, 2024, were considered for the award. These papers were thoroughly evaluated following the guidelines, and the EICs and AEs decided the winners after considering the following: “high-quality content at an international level,” “exploration of new areas, methodologies, and concepts,” “abundant originality, pioneering achievement, and novelty,” and the “potential and outstanding accuracy, diligence, and effort” of the nominees, along with the review comments for the papers.

Hence, the 2024 Best Paper Award goes to:

Kun-Sian Lin, Masahiro Kurata, Yutaro Kawasaki, Yoshio Kitatani for “Investigation of low-disturbance seismic retrofit method for steel column bases using curved members”.

Japan Architectural Review 7.1 (2024): e12429.

https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.12429.

Tatsuya Nishino, Haruka Tsukuda, Shigeki Matsubara, Satoshi Ishii, Yukiko Inoue, Hiroshi Tachibana, Kentaro Yamaguchi, Lai Sima, Ui Mimasaku for “A scoping review of studies for senior nursing home planning in Japan—Trajectory of introducing private rooms and unit care system in nursing home”.

Japan Architectural Review 7.1 (2024): e12457.

https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.12457.

Minghao Huang, Yasuyuki Shiraishi, Satoshi Hirakawa, Jun Maruyama for “Performance verification of pipe-embedded wall system in school building and proposal of its optimal control strategy”.

Japan Architectural Review 7.1 (2024): e12447.

https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.12447.

Moreover, we are pleased to announce the Most Cited Paper Award for the most frequently cited papers published over the last 2 years. Paper citations are based on data from SCI that track the journal since its first publication. As a result of the SCOPUS database review, we are pleased to announce that the Most Cited Paper Award 2025 goes to:

Riho Abe, Yuki Saito, Kazuya Shide for “Research on each actor's awareness of procurement methods involving contractors and consultants in the design phase: Based on interviews with persons in charge”.

Japan Architectural Review 6.1 (2023): e12384.

https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.12384.

Heartiest congratulations to all the authors of these excellent articles, and the winners of the JAR Best Paper Award and the Most Cited Paper Award. We look forward to your future contributions.