Greeting
Welcome to our homepage. My name is Hidenori Arai, and I'm the President of The Japan Federation of Gerontological Societies (JFGS). I have been the President of this society since taking over from the former President, Ichiro Kai, in June 2019.
JFGS was established in conjunction with the Japan Geriatrics Society and the Japan Socio-Gerontological Society in 1959. The Japan Society for Biomedical Gerontology, Japanese Society of Gerodontology, Japanese Psychogeriatric Society, Japan Society of Care Management, and Japan Academy of Gerontological Nursing later joined, such that it now consists of seven societies related to gerontology. Through our efforts to domestically promote exchanges among gerontologists and increase public awareness of gerontology, JFGS is an important organization representing gerontology in Japan from an international perspective. Every two years, JFGS has held a congress among the seven societies, involving more than 10,000 researchers and health care professionals. The quality of research presented at this congress is improving at a rapid clip, along with the quantity of such presentations.
In Japan, the aging rate exceeded 28% in 2018, and the number of people over 75 years of age is expected to increase further, such that by 2040, roughly 1 in 4 people will be over 75 years old. With such an unprecedented aging population, gerontology is becoming increasingly important, and the responsibilities of the Society will undoubtedly become even greater over time. The treatment of older people cannot be managed by merely a single academic field, and as Japan becomes a super-aged society, the interdisciplinary activities of JFGS are becoming increasingly important. We therefore believe that it is necessary to improve our basic research efforts as well as clinical and social research.
The Society is involved in a number of major activities. First, we are engaged in activities to educate others about gerontology. By building upon the efforts of our predecessors in the field, we are working hard to have gerontology be recognized as an important element by society. For this reason, the Biennial Meeting of JFGS is an important event for the exchange of information and experiences among gerontologists and for devising new approaches to appeal to society.
Second, the Society makes recommendations to the public regarding various problems affecting older people. As one project in which the Society is involved, the "Investigation for the creation of guidelines regarding the introduction/withdrawal/discontinuation of artificial hydration/nutrition in patients with end-stage dementia" was begun in January 2010. Fortunately, this project was officially recognized by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in fiscal year 2010, and for the following two years, we conducted a survey on the actual situation and promoted educational activities with the help of volunteers, including the Japan Geriatrics Society, the Japan Academy of Gerontological Nursing, the Japanese Society of Gerodontology, and the Japan Socio-Gerontological Society, resulting in the creation of the guidelines of JFGS in 2012 based on the results thereof. In addition, we launched the interdisciplinary "working group examining the definition of older people" with the Japan Geriatrics Society in September 2013. The results of the examination were made public as a final report in March 2017, and the contents of the proposal, which define ≥75 years of age as "old age", have garnered great social attention. In this way, we will continue our activities through the interdisciplinary efforts of JFGS.
Third, we are attempting to strengthen our collaborations with related domestic conferences. We will increase our efforts to host joint symposia with other societies, raise awareness of these conferences, and enlighten the general public to the importance of geriatrics and gerontology in individual fields.
Finally, it is important to further our international activities. Japan is attracting attention from all over the world as an aging country, and other Asian countries are looking to Japan for guidance on gerontology. We will strengthen our efforts to enhance Japan's role in global gerontology, including via the hosting of international conferences. At present, we have offered to host the IAGG Asia Oceania Congress in 2023 and the IAGG World Congress in 2029. If we are granted the privilege, the IAGG Asia Oceania Congress will be held in Yokohama, and the IAGG World Congress will be held in Kyoto. All members of JFGS should make an effort to contribute to the successful hosting of these two important congresses.
I sincerely hope that researchers and practitioners in gerontology and related fields will become interested in and participate in the activities of our society.
Hidenori Arai
President
The Japan Federation of Gerontological Societies