Takao Akama, MD, PhD
President, JSCSM

 Hello. I’m Takao Akama. In November 2025, I became president of the Japanese Society of Clinical Sports Medicine (JSCSM), succeeding the former president, Dr. Fumihiro Yamasawa.

 Sports medicine has seen several important developments in recent years. In the 2021 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, 365 JSCSM members participated, leaving a significant legacy in Japan’s sports medicine field. In the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education in Japan (2022 Revision), the words “sports” and “sports medicine” now appear more frequently than in the previous edition, indicating that the field has also gained greater prominence in medical education. Amended in 2025, Japanese law the Basic Act on Sport continued to recognize medicine and dentistry as key scientific disciplines related to sports and also added pharmacy as a new discipline. In addition, the Japan Sports Agency advocates purposeful exercise and sports as ways to improve performance in daily life. Together, these developments demonstrate the growing social expectations for sports medicine.

 JSCSM was established in 1989 as an academic society for sports physicians across all fields of sports medicine. However, after nearly 40 years, JSCSM now faces new challenges in further revitalizing its activities. As of September 30, 2025, JSCSM had 2,530 regular members (doctors and dentists) (52.5%), 56 regular members (other than doctors and dentists), and 2,153 associate members (44.6%). As the organization is a society for sports physicians, only doctors and dentists can join as regular members, while others join as associate members. Although associate members can become regular members by completing designated procedures, few have actually done so. All delegates to the general assembly are regular members, making it difficult for associate members to participate in the society’s governance. Given the situation, it is time to rethink JSCSM’s governance framework to better reflect its current membership composition. Moreover, women account for an extremely low proportion of members at just 16.4%, while their male counterparts represent 83.6% of the total. While we have been working to increase female membership and promote women’s involvement in the society’s governance since the tenure of former president Dr. Yamasawa, we need to further intensify our efforts.

 As a society for specialists practicing sports medicine, JSCSM will pursue reforms to enhance its academic activities and respond to the social needs for sports medicine.