Message From the president

Greeting by the New President




President, the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy
Takahiro Kuragano

Hyogo Medical University, Department of Cardiovascular and Renal Medicine, Division of Kidney and Dialysis



My name is Takahiro Kuragano, and I was elected as the President of the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy (JSDT, a general incorporated association) at the JSDT’s Board of Directors meeting held on June 18, 2026.

The JSDT is a professional society with a long history of evolution, initially constituted in 1968 as the Dialysis Research Association, and renamed in 1985 as the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy (Japanese name: Nihon Tosekiryoho Gakkai). In 1993, its Japanese name was changed to Nihon Tosekii Gakkai. In 2012, it was officially approved as a general incorporated association (current full name: General Incorporated Association Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy). The JSDT has grown into one of the larger professional societies in the medical field, with its membership comprising 14,345 regular members (including some temporarily inactive members), 4,134 organizational members, and 51 supporting members, as of 18 June 2026. I have been engaged in the medical care of patients with renal failure and in dialysis therapy for many years. I feel humbled by the great honor bestowed on me and solemnly assume the office of President of the JSDT with its notable history and large membership. 

Since its foundation, the JSDT has been developing as a professional society through close linkage among physicians, nurses, clinical engineers, pharmacists, clinical nutritionists, and physical therapists. It may be viewed as a pioneer professional society established and managed through collaboration among professionals from multiple fields. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the current JSDT is an outcome of the efforts of collaboration among multiple professions. The environment surrounding dialysis therapy has become more complex now than before, with numerous open issues that need to be addressed. Therefore, it may be desirable to establish a medical team managed through closer and more functional cooperation among multiple professions. My desire is to resolve these open issues through further promoting cooperation among professionals from multiple fields.

As you are already aware, kidney replacement therapy uses a kind of artificial organ which has become more and more sophisticated over time. Japan leads the world in terms of the quality of dialysis therapy it provides, with the expected survival/prognosis of dialysis patients in Japan being superior to that in other countries. I believe this is one of the medical technologies that we can be proud of having developed to a world-leading level. We can now provide high-quality dialysis therapy and control complications related to dialysis therapy in an ideal manner. However, such a favorable status could not have been achieved with the efforts of healthcare professionals alone. Collaboration with enterprises engaged in new device development and new drug development plays a significant role too.

Furthermore, medico-economic issues are also an important concern for us to be able to maintain the high quality of dialysis therapy that we provide in Japan. It is often said that dialysis therapy is now at a stage of maturation. I pledge that the JSDT will further elevate the level of the industry-academia-government collaboration, as well as collaboration among its members, and will strive to provide higher-level dialysis therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease.

A major objective of the JSDT is to establish academic evidence and to facilitate its extensive utilization so that we may contribute to improving the quality of life of patients with end-stage renal disease (including dialysis patients), preventing complications related to dialysis therapy, and improving the prognosis/survival of these patients. We will continue dissemination of valuable high-quality information useful for clinical practice, nursing and daily-life care by maximal utilization of the results of statistical surveys which have been carried out with the extensive and significant cooperation of members of the JSDT. Last year, the JSDT published the Clinical Practice Guidelines for CKD‒MBD (chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder). In the near future, we propose to publish additional guidelines, including the Guidelines for Treatment of Anemia Associated with Chronic Kidney Diseases and Proposals for Palliative Care of Patients with End-stage Renal Disease. In the ultra-aging society of today, there is a greater need to prolong healthy life expectancy and develop the capability of patients and their family members to lead their desired daily living. We hope that these guidelines will help each member of the JSDT in his or her clinical practice/provision of nursing or daily life care. 

Before I end, I would like to express my determination to do my best to advance the JSDT further so that it can contribute to the care of patients with end-stage renal disease, including dialysis patients. To this end, I will review the activities of the JSDT for the future together with its members and ensure that we maintain close collaboration and cooperation with related professional societies such as the Japanese Society of Nephrology, Japanese Society for Peritoneal Dialysis, Japan Society for Transplantation, Japanese Society for Clinical Renal Transplantation, Japanese Society of Renal Rehabilitation, Japan Academy of Nephrology Nursing, Japan Association for Clinical Engineers, and Japanese Society of Nephrology and Pharmacotherapy. I will greatly appreciate the understanding, cooperation, and advice of each member of our society about the activities and management of the JSDT.

　July 2026