It is a great privilege to become the new Editor-in-Chief of Island Arc, the official journal of Geological Society of Japan, for the next 4 years. On behalf of the new editorial team, we now would like to express our sincere gratitude to the 2016–2019 editorial board members (Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Editorial Advisory Board members, and editorial office secretaries), reviewers, authors, readers, and all other persons who contributed to Island Arc. Despite the efforts of our previous editorial members, Island Arc has lost its momentum. The journal’s impact factor has decreased from 1.148 in 2014 to 0.893 in 2018. Consequently, Island Arc is currently ranked 171th of 196 journals in the category ‘Geosciences, Multidisciplinary’. This decline in the international rating, however, does not equate to a downturn in the research productivity of the Geological Society members. The 127 year long history of research on the origin and evolution of convergent plate boundaries undertaken by our society members sustains the reputation of our journal. We recognize, however, that we must put in place actions to recuperate the trust from our authors and readers, and, as such, have decided to expand our scope to current topics such as natural hazards, climate changes, origins of life in early Earth, etc. Currently, Island Arc is published on a bimonthly basis with six issues released per year. It will, however, soon become a non-issued journal, enabling the immediate publication of accepted papers. Each step of the editorial processes will consequently be significantly improved and simplified. Further, authors will be offered Free Access for over two years after publication. Island Arc is in an extraordinary moment of innovation; our main goal is to strengthen our journal towards a much higher international status. Thus, we would like to invite authors to consider submitting forefront manuscripts to our journal, such as those reporting innovative findings and new views, or trends on their way to major breakthrough of geosciences. From this volume, we have changed the cover design of the journal using a photograph of Mt. Fuji (Fig. 1). There is meaning behind the photo: change and a new start. We look forward to your contributions.