About us

Words from the President

Masaki Shimizu

The president of Pediatric Rheumatology Association of Japan (PRAJ)

Welcome to the website of Pediatric Rheumatology Association of Japan (PRAJ).　

The treatment of pediatric rheumatic diseases has undergone dramatic advances by elucidating the pathogenesis and introducing new treatments such as molecular targeted therapy. However, many issues remain to be resolved. For further development of pediatric rheumatology, we would like to promote basic and clinical research. Furthermore, we would like to train excellent pediatric rheumatologists to provide high-quality medical care.

Approximately 600 pediatric rheumatologists in Japan are members of PRAJ. PRAJ holds the annual scientific meeting every autumn and provides an opportunity for participants to share their experiences and knowledge of pediatric rheumatology. PRAJ aims to promote internationalization. We welcome the participation of pediatric rheumatologists from around the world.

List of Past Presidents

	Name	Affiliation	Period
1st President	Nobuo WATANABE	Kyorin University	1991-2005
2nd President	Shunpei YOKOTA	Yokohama City University	2006–2009
3rd President	Shuji TAKEI	Kagoshima University	2010–2013
4th President	Yasuhiko ITOH	Nihon Medical School	2014–2017
5th President	Masaaki MORI	Tokyo Medical and Dental University	2018–2020
6th President	Takako MIYAMAE	Tokyo Women’s Medical University	2021–2025
7th President	Masaki Shimizu	Institute of Science Tokyo	2026-Present

List of Past Academic Annual Meeting Chairs

Time	Name	Affiliation	Date
1st Meeting	Nobuo WATANABE	Kyorin University	November 30, 1991
2nd Meeting	Teiichi ODA	Fukuoka University	November 21, 1992
3rd Meeting	Satoshi FUJIKAWA	Medical University	November 27, 1993
4th Meeting	Masashi HOKONOHARA	Kagoshima University	November 30, 1994
5th Meeting	Junichi YATA	Tokyo Medical and Dental University	October 28, 1995
6th Meeting	Shumpei YOKOTA	Yokohama City University	October 26, 1996
7th Meeting	Osamu TATSUZAWA	National Pediatric Hospital	October 25, 1997
8th Meeting	Yasuhisa KATO	Kurume University	October 17-18, 1998
9th Meeting	Noriyuki WADA	The Jikei University School of Medicine	October 23, 1999
10th Meeting	Yoichi KONO	Chiba University	October 14, 2000
11th Meeting	Shuji TAKEI	Kagoshima University	October 27–28, 2001
12th Meeting	Atsushi KOMIYAMA	Shinshu University	September 27–28, 2002
13th Meeting	Kunihiko AKAGI	Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center	October 11–12, 2003
14th Meeting	Yasuji INAMO	Nihon University	October 09–10, 2004
15th Meeting	Yasuhiko ITOH	Nippon Medical School	October 08–09, 2005
16th Meeting	Hiroshi KAWAI	Nagano Children’s Hospital	October 06–08, 2006
17th Meeting	Takeshi NOMA	Kitazato University	September 28–30, 2007
18th Meeting	Tadashi ARIGA	Hokkaido University	October 03–05, 2008
19th Meeting	Takuji MURATA	Osaka Medical College	October 02–04, 2009
20th Meeting	Noriko KINJO	University of the Ryukyus	February 11–13, 2011
21st Meeting	Mari MIYOSHI	Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Children’s Hospital	October 14–16, 2011
22nd Meeting	Naomi IWATA	Aichi Children’s Health and Medical Center	October 05–06, 2012
23rd Meeting	Tsutomu OISHI	Saitama Children’s Medical Center	October 11–13, 2013
24th Meeting	Hiroaki UMEBAYASHI	Miyagi Children’s Hospital	October 03–05, 2014
25th Meeting	Akihiro YACHIE	Kanazawa University	October 09–11, 2015
26th Meeting	Minako TOMIITA	Chiba Children’s Hospital	October 21–23, 2016
27th Meeting	Ryuta NISHIKOMORI	Kyoto University	October 06–08, 2017
28th Meeting	Masaaki MORI	Tokyo Medical and Dental University	October 26–28, 2018
29th Meeting	Ichiro KOBAYASHI	KKR Sapporo Medical Center	October 04–06, 2019
30th Meeting	Takako MIYAMAE	Tokyo Women’s Medical University	October 15–17, 2021
31th Meeting (Tentative)	Utako KANEKO	Niigata University	October 14–16, 2022

The association was approved as a subcommittee at the 11th Japan Pediatric Society meeting.
The 2020 Congress has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.