On 19 August, a KiDS education session was held for school nurses in Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, as part of an ongoing programme delivered in the country since 2018 in collaboration with the Japan Association for Diabetes Education and Care (JADEC), an International Diabetes Federation member.
In Japan, an estimated 79,463 people across all age groups are living with type 1 diabetes, including around 9,382 children and adolescents aged 0–19 years, while an estimated 10.8 million adults aged 20–79 were living with diabetes in 2024.
During the session, Dr Yohei Ogawa, JADEC Board Member and paediatrician at Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, provided participants with essential information about diabetes and practical guidance on supporting children living with type 1 diabetes at school. He emphasised the importance of ensuring that children living with diabetes are included in school life and are not unnecessarily treated differently from their peers.
Kaori Hoshino, a nurse and JADEC Insulin Mentor who lives with type 1 diabetes, also shared her experiences of managing diabetes and discussed how school nurses can provide appropriate and supportive care.
Participants highlighted the value of hearing both clinical expertise and lived experience. School nurses reported that the session helped them better understand how to respond to the needs of students living with diabetes and gave them greater confidence in supporting students and their classmates.
Making diabetes information accessible
As part of the KiDS programme in Japan, a Japanese version of the KiDS comic, Tom and Friends’ Diabetes Journey, is also being made available to support diabetes education. The comic provides accessible information about living with type 1 diabetes, including how to recognise the signs and respond to low blood glucose.
The resource is designed to help children, school staff and wider school communities better understand diabetes and contribute to an inclusive environment for children living with the condition.
