Q: AO Spine has built a strong global education program over many years. How do you see its evolution in the coming years, and where would you like to build on existing strengths?

"Thanks to the efforts and dedication of past and current AO Spine Educational Commission members, we have built a very strong portfolio of educational resources. This is one of our greatest assets.

When I look at everything we have created, I see many individual strengths, many strong 'dots' that continue to grow. At the same time, I believe there is significant opportunity to make our educational offerings even stronger by connecting these dots more effectively.

By creating stronger links between our resources, programs, and activities, we can generate greater synergies and make our educational events more efficient, impactful, and valuable for our members. This is one of the key areas I would like to focus on during my term."

Q: AO Spine places great importance on high-quality, competency-based education. How do you personally define success when it comes to the impact of education on surgeons and patient care?

"There are many ways to measure success, including membership growth and participation in our educational events. These are important indicators, but I would also like to look beyond the numbers.

In medicine, there are still many unmet needs. We are creating valuable educational resources for today's surgeons, but there remains much more that we can do. Around the world, many patients continue to suffer from spinal pathologies, and even I encounter cases where the best treatment approach is not always clear.

This is an area where we as a society can continue to make a meaningful contribution. Together with our members, faculty, and leading experts in spinal care worldwide, we can advance the scientific and educational foundations of emerging fields. By doing so, we can help address unmet needs and ultimately improve care for patients around the world."

Q: AO Spine is a global organization. How can education best reflect diverse clinical environments and regional needs while maintaining consistency?

"AO Spine is built on a strong scientific foundation and offers high-quality educational programs. At the same time, we operate in a world of diversity, with differences in geography, age, ethnicity, and culture. It is important that we consider all of these perspectives while addressing the needs of our global community.

This is not an easy task, but I believe AO Spine is uniquely positioned to connect people around the world. Through our society, we can build meaningful relationships and lasting bonds, despite the distances and cultural differences that separate us.

Ultimately, we all share a common goal: improving the health and well-being of our patients. In many ways, this is a universal language that unites us. Regardless of where we come from or the cultural backgrounds we represent, we are working toward the same purpose. AO Spine is, for me, the society where we can build these bonds for the future.”

Q: As education formats continue to evolve, how do you see the balance between hands-on learning and new digital approaches developing?

“We now have access to an increasing range of digital resources and technologies that are transforming education—not only in medicine, but also in how we teach and learn. At the same time, becoming a skilled spine surgeon requires more than knowledge alone. It also requires the development of technical and surgical skills. The question is: how can we build surgical skills?

If we take the example of a great painter like Picasso or Renoir: they have great skills, but they paint very differently. Their work produced very different results, but both were built on exceptional technical skills.

Perhaps the same is true for surgeons. We can teach and mentor individuals, helping them grow according to their own strengths and talents. Some may operate more quickly; others may be more meticulous in their technique. But we can teach them and help them to develop their own skills, so that in their everyday work they can feel changes towards becoming better spine surgeons.”

Q: In your own experience, is there a particular aspect of AO Spine education that has been especially meaningful for you?

“Everything! 

When I was 12 years old, I was first introduced to English, and I was amazed by how different it was from Japanese. I began studying medicine around 20, I became a spine surgeon around 30, and I was engaged in different international medical societies along the way. Finally, I reached AO Spine around 40 years of age, and that made a very different voyage in my career.

AO Spine has helped shape me not only as a spine surgeon, but also as a human being. This society, AO Spine, is like my home. I was born here, I grew up here, and I would like to stay here for a long time.”