February 2026

As we start the new year, I would like to extend my heartfelt greetings to all members.

I was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors in July 2025, and I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for safely welcoming the new year. I would like to briefly report on the Academy’s activities over the past six months and share my outlook for 2026.

The 45th Academic Conference of Japan Academy of Nursing Science, held at Toki Messe in Niigata in December 2025, focused on the theme of “Nursing Science and Dignity,” and was attended by over 3,600 people, including members, non-members, and international students. Deep dialogue on the “practice of dignity” that nursing undertakes and its scientific exploration transcended clinical, educational, and research perspectives, resulting in significant achievements. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Conference Chair Dr. Naoko Arimori (Graduate School of Health Sciences, Niigata University) and all those who contributed to the conference.

At the 45th General Assembly, I delivered a statement of my belief as Chair. I would like to briefly share an overview of the 2026 management policy that I presented on that occasion.

Our Academy is an academic foundation that covers nursing science as a whole, not just a specific specialty. We believe that it should be a forum where diverse expertise and values meet, intersect, and complement each other, integrating knowledge from research, education, and practice, and built on trust.

That is why we would like to reaffirm the common purpose that should be shared by all members: “For what purpose are we developing nursing science?”

Article 2 of our Constitution states that our purpose is “The Academy promotes the development of nursing science, facilitates exchange in a broad range of knowledge, and contributes to the health and welfare of people.”

More concretely, this means ensuring more peaceful birth, aging, illness, and death for individuals, communities across the planet, while maintaining an environment in which people can live with dignity into the future. We believe that our mission is to scientifically determine the process, support methods, and results of this. We also aim to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society and universal health coverage (UHC), positioning the impact of climate change on health and medicine as an important research topic.

To ensure that “free inquiry” is sustained with this goal in mind, high-quality decision-making under responsible governance is required. We are accelerating our efforts to further improve financial soundness and operational efficiency, while strengthening the system for cooperation between the Board of Directors and committees. In this way, we will solidify the foundation that supports the creation of knowledge and the formation of networks among our members.

In 2026, we will prioritize strengthening this “circuit of trust” and establishing a more solid foundation for sustainable Academy operations. To this end, we will implement the following specific initiatives:

• Establishing financial soundness and a highly transparent management system
• Ensuring the quality and continuity of our journals (through an international call for applications for the JJNS Editor-in-Chief position and full-scale implementation of our editorial risk management system, etc.)
• Reviewing our award system for papers
• Clarifying the review criteria for research grants
• Reorganizing our membership qualification system
• Improving the efficiency of committee activities
• Implementing a system for interaction among members from diverse perspectives and generations
• Scientific contributions to societal issues such as climate change and health disparities

Furthermore, we will work closely with the Conference chairs to ensure that our efforts to address these key issues are communicated to our members through our Academy’s activities in a manner that is visible to our members.

“Freedom to ask questions”, “freedom to debate”, and “freedom to criticize and reconstruct” are fundamental to the creation and transmission of knowledge in nursing science. We hope to work with you to build an even more solid foundation to protect and nurture these freedoms.

We look forward to your continued warm and sincere support this year.

Ikuko Sakai, PHN, RN, PhD
Chairperson of the Board of Directors
Japan Academy of Nursing Science