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In March, hosted the "Siblings Gathering," a special event for the brothers and sisters of children undergoing long-term hospitalization. The event is designed to set aside a day just for these siblings, who often have to stay at home or miss out on certain activities while their families care for the hospitalized child. Eighteen children took part, enjoying games with their parents, indulging in sweets, and exploring parts of the hospital that are normally off-limits.
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Emotional Support for Siblings in Difficult Times
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When a child is hospitalized with a serious illness or disability, parents often need to devote much of their time and energy to caregiving. As a result, siblings can be left feeling lonely or anxious. With all the attention focused on the hospitalized child, family life changes completely. The Siblings Gathering was started in 2010 to recognize and support children confronting this situation.
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Kazuteru Niinomi (left) and Miwa Sasaki (right), who have been involved since the beginning of the Siblings Gathering.
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Miwa Sasaki, a Child Life Specialist (CLS) at ÅÝܽÊÓƵ Hospital, has played a key role in the event since its founding. CLS professionals work closely with hospitalized children to help ease their fear and anxiety, offering various forms of psychological support. Sasaki was motivated to provide the same level of support to these children's siblings as well.
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These siblings face their own unique challenges. For example, an older sister blamed herself for her younger sister's hair loss during cancer treatment, thinking it was because she had been mean to her. An older brother felt significant pressure after being told that he needed to be strong and work hard like his younger brother who was fighting a disease. These emotional burdens can lead some children to develop eating disorders, lose their hair, or stop attending school.
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A scene from the 32nd Siblings Gathering. Nearly 300 children have participated to date.
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Even when children try to visit their hospitalized sibling with family, typically only the parents are allowed to enter the treatment wards or patient rooms. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, restricting children's access to hospital wards became standard practice in Japan. "When I saw children waiting alone in the entrance hallway or at the hospital's convenience store," said Sasaki, "I wondered if there was something more that we could do to support them."
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Dr. Kazuteru Niinomi, a nurse and professor at the ÅÝܽÊÓƵ Graduate School of Medicine, who worked with Sasaki to start the Siblings Gathering, recalls a vivid memory that has stayed with him for over a decade: "There was a child who needed a bone marrow transplant, and her older sister turned out to be a match. We were all relieved, thinking that we would be able to save her. On the day of the surgery, however, the older sister ran out of the hospital. We were able to convince her to come back and perform the surgery, but when we determined another transplant was needed, she refused. 'I do not want to be a donor again.' It was a wake-up call; we had completely overlooked her feelings."
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Today Is Your Day To Shine
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On March 20, 2025, Sasaki warmly greeted everyone at the start of the Siblings Gathering: "I am here today because I wanted to meet all of you. I am so happy to see you!" The organizing team--Sasaki and Niinomi, along with volunteers including nurses, clinical technicians, and nursing students--focused on ensuring all the participants had a wonderful time. "We want each and every child to know that they are important," said Sasaki.
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Building candy houses with their parents.
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The day's first activity was building candy houses. Children spread chocolate on biscuits and carefully stacked them into houses. One two-year-old girl could not resist and licked the chocolate before spreading it, prompting the staff to smile and exclaim, "So cute!" as they quickly took out their phones to snap photos. Though a bit puzzled, the girl smiled brightly.
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Next up was a game called "newspaper rock-paper-scissors," where parents and children stood together on a large sheet of newspaper, folding it in half each time they lost a round of rock-paper-scissors. One five-year-old laughed with excitement as she clung to her mother balancing on one foot. The group then moved on to other games and even a hospital-themed quiz.
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The hero for siblings, Shibu-Red from the "Shibu-Rangers," joined in the fun!
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The highlight of the day was a tour of the pediatric ward of the hospital. With their parents accompanying them, this was the first time that the children were able to enter that part of the hospital. Wearing masks and sanitizing their hands, they carefully followed all safety precautions before stepping into the ward to finally reunite with their siblings.
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Setting off on a tour of the pediatric ward.
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Beyond this point lies an unknown world for the children...
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One girl met her younger sister, who had been born extremely prematurely, for the very first time. She could not help but say, "So cute!" as she gently held her sister's hand, stroked her head, and shook a rattle, doing her best to care for her. Their mother was moved, saying, "She is more like a mother than I am."
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Meeting her sister in person for the first time after only seeing her in videos
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In another room, a boy receiving treatment for childhood cancer reunited with his older sister. He shyly smiled and offered her some sweets, and the two posed with peace signs for their mother's camera.
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You Are Important, You Are Not Alone
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When adults focus all their energy on supporting a sick or disabled child, they may not have the time or capacity to give attention to their other children. These siblings may become lonely or anxious, and may even start to question their own worth: "Am I really needed?" When Sasaki meets children who feel this way, she makes a point of not referring to them as "brother" or "sister," but calls them by their name. She asks them things like "What do you like?" and "How is school?"
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The important thing is to help each child realize that they are not just a secondary concern, replacing "you also matter" with simply "you matter." "The Siblings Gathering is one way to begin that process," says Sasaki. "You matter. You are not alone, and we are cheering you on."
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This article was originally written in Japanese by Tatsuyuki Fukui for the web magazine and published on April 10, 2025. Unless otherwise stated, photos were taken by the author. The ÅÝܽÊÓƵ International Communications Office has translated and edited it for clarity while preserving the original content's intent. Certain information might be outdated. For the original Japanese version, please see .