--- title: Community Building for Open-Source Adoption in Japanese Pharma tags: author: [森岡裕[SASユーザー総会世話人]](https://docswell.com/user/6484025) site: [Docswell](https://www.docswell.com/) thumbnail: https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/3JK9V3YRJD.jpg?width=480 description: Community Building for Open-Source Adoption in Japanese Pharma by 森岡裕[SASユーザー総会世話人] published: October 21, 26 canonical: https://docswell.com/s/6484025/KN7332-2026-10-21-143718 --- # Page. 1 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/3JK9V3YRJD.jpg) Community Building for Open-Source Adoption in Japanese Pharma R with Pharma Lab — lowering barriers through local community Global OSS Yutaka Morioka Japanese Pharma # Page. 2 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/LE3WMG9GE5.jpg) Yutaka Morioka Title: SAS Guru Organization: EPS Corporation https://www.epsi-global.com/ A SAS programmer based in Japan and clinical data scientist. I actively disseminate SAS programming techniques from introductory to advanced levels and have presented at international and regional conferences including SAS Global Forum, CDISC Interchange Japan, Phuse Japan SDE, and PharmaSUG SDE. As an organizer of the SAS User’s Group in Japan, I also focus on fostering collaboration between SAS and R programmers, aiming to create synergy across both communities. Linkdin github # Page. 3 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/8EDK61GN7G.jpg) Global momentum exists — but accessibility is local. Global R / OSS ecosystem Japanese pharma practitioners gap 01 — Growing importance 02 — Global momentum 03 — Local distance R and OSS are increasingly important in pharma work. Communities like R in Pharma share inspiration, tools, and energy. Many Japanese professionals still feel distant from the conversation. 02 / 09 # Page. 4 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/V7PKYQ3NJ8.jpg) Open source needs a community to thrive. Open-source adoption is sustained by visible, connected communities: ・sharing code on GitHub ・exchanging ideas on LinkedIn ・learning together in online spaces But Japanese voices can be hard to find in these global channels. Where are the Japanese practitioners? They are there—but often not yet visible, connected, or comfortable participating in English-first communities. # Page. 5 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/2JVVG54YJQ.jpg) The hardest barriers are cultural and psychological. Language Context Technical discussion is often English-first; Overseas examples don’t always map nuance gets lost between languages. onto Japanese work settings. Confidence Uncertainty “Is it safe — or appropriate — to ask The first practical step toward adopting this question here?” OSS responsibly is hard to see. # Page. 6 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/5EGL861WJL.jpg) A native-language space lowers the cost of participation. 01 Japanese language discussion in one’s own tongue, imperfect English is fine 04 02 Psychological safety Peer learning imperfect questions welcome, from those at a similar stage silence never required of the OSS journey a welcoming home 03 Practical examples shaped to familiar work contexts and pharma settings # Page. 7 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/4JQY94DQ7P.jpg) A long tradition of Japanese-language community Since 1982, the SAS Users Group Meeting has been held annually in Japan. It has provided a space for Japanese-language papers and presentations, enabling pharmaceutical analytics professionals to exchange knowledge, experience, and practical ideas. A bridge to the global community The meeting has also shared international developments in Japanese—making global knowledge more accessible in a local context. It has encouraged participants to connect with and contribute to communities beyond Japan. My perspective I have served as an organizer of the SAS Users Group Meeting for the past four years. This experience showed me how a native-language community can turn global information into local participation. https://sas-user2026.ywstat.jp/ That experience inspired me to build a similar bridge for R and open-source software in Japanese pharma. # Page. 8 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/K74WXQZYE1.jpg) R with Pharma Lab — a community for Japanese pharma professionals using R 01 A Japanese-speaking community, focused on R in pharmaceutical settings. 02 A place for inclusive, practical knowledge sharing — not promotion. 03 Designed to meet people where they are in their open-source journey. Find us [R with Pharma Lab] sites.google.com/view/r-with-pharma-lab # Page. 9 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/LJ1YNPRNEG.jpg) R with Pharma Lab Meetup #1 A strong first step for a Japanese-speaking R community 8 April 2026 · Hybrid meeting · 09:00–17:30 A full day of practical learning and knowledge sharing Foundations & workflow Pharma analytics & standards Reliable, reproducible practice Getting started with R — an introductory session for new R users Automating ADaM creation with R — from data standards to a more efficient workflow Writing robust R code — practical patterns for maintainable analyses What is teal? — an introduction to interactive Shiny Causal inference for pharmaceutical data — an applications for data exploration accessible statistical introduction Your first Quarto report — reproducible reporting with code and narrative tidyverse in 10 minutes — a rapid introduction to modern data manipulation Real-world data analysis in R — applying R to observational healthcare data Introduction to simulation — using simulation to understand analysis behaviour CDISC ADaM — an overview of analysis data standards and results datasets PMDA oncology inquiry package development — creating reusable tools for regulatory-response work Introduction to testthat — automated testing for reliable R code Try {renv} — managing package environments for reproducibility R with Pharma Lab Meetup #2 is now in planning. # Page. 10 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/GJWG42YM72.jpg) Community makes adoption social, not solitary. STAGE 01 STAGE 02 STAGE 03 STAGE 04 STAGE 05 Curiosity Conversation Confidence Small experiments Reusable practice Observable Practical Conversational Seeing peers try R makes the first step feel achievable. Shared examples reduce duplicated effort across teams. Informal discussion turns uncertainty into practical judgment. # Page. 11 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/4EZL2DXM73.jpg) This is not R versus SAS — it is a culture of sharing. R community SAS community shared centre Reusable, shareable practice Same table, also Travels across tools What we share I have also been involved in SAS user meetings and local study groups. The same community principles carry across tools and their generations. Reusable code, transparent methods, peer support — not tool-specific. # Page. 12 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/Y76WV1457V.jpg) Pharma Forest — exploring a SAS package framework. Inspiration Inspired by the collaborative ecosystem of pharmaverse in R. Exploration Exploring how reusable, shareable SAS tools can be organized. Cultural Broader goal — make sharing a normal part of technical work. https://github.com/PharmaForest # Page. 13 ![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/G75MD4QG74.jpg) Community is infrastructure for adoption. 01 OSS adoption needs local relevance 02 Native-language communities lower 03 Reusable tools grow when people as well as global inspiration. psychological and practical barriers. have spaces to learn and share together. By building bridges between global OSS ecosystems and local practice, we can make open-source adoption more approachable in Japanese pharma. Thank you.