KABAG at WCCBT 2026 — What We Heard in San Francisco

June 2026 — San Francisco

We didn't come with answers. We came to listen.

In June 2026, KABAG crossed the Pacific to exhibit at WCCBT 2026 — the 11th World Congress of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies in San Francisco, one of the largest international gatherings in the CBT field, with roughly 2,400 researchers, clinicians, and support professionals in attendance.

This page is our report: why a small bag maker from Japan went to a scientific congress, what we heard there, and what we will do with it.

Bronze Sponsor signage featuring KOEI Inc. at the 11th World WCCBT Congress in San Francisco

Why we went

KABAG for ADHD started with listening. In 2024, we surveyed 677 respondents in Japan (665 with an ADHD diagnosis or self-identified traits) about everyday carry challenges. What they told us shaped every design decision:

  • 71.3% said finding things inside a bag is hard
  • 57.0% had lost their house keys
  • 63.5% had gone back home to retrieve something they forgot

The result was a backpack built on two principles: make contents visible, and give every item a fixed, consistent place. Not to fix people — to make everyday items easier to see, return, and use.

When we decided to bring KABAG to the United States, we knew the honest way to start was the same way we started in Japan: by listening first. WCCBT 2026 — where the world's ADHD and CBT research community gathers — was where we chose to do it.

Designed with professionals in Japan

KABAG for ADHD was co-developed with three Japanese professionals who work with ADHD every day:

  • Misuzu Nakashima, PhD — clinical psychologist and licensed public psychologist; CEO of Time Design Lab Inc.; research fellow at the Graduate School of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University. Her randomized controlled trial on group CBT targeting time management for adults with ADHD was published in the Journal of Attention Disorders (2022). At WCCBT 2026, she presented her research as a symposium speaker.
  • Kazuyuki Minami — licensed clinical psychologist and public psychologist specializing in ADHD and trauma-informed counseling.
  • Miwa Nishihara — professional organizer specializing in ADHD, director of the organizing consultancy AUBE, with more than 1,500 consultations.

Their contribution shaped the design itself — where pockets go, what stays visible, how routines form around the bag. It is design input, not a claim of medical benefit.

Dr. Misuzu Nakashima presenting her symposium at WCCBT 2026 in San Francisco
Dr. Misuzu Nakashima presenting at WCCBT 2026.

Two days at Booth #208

The congress ran for four days, June 25 to 28. As a Bronze sponsor, we exhibited at Booth #208 for two of them — and we made those two days count. Researchers, clinicians, therapists, and support professionals from around the world stopped by, opened the bag, and told us what they thought — candidly.

Congress attendees trying KABAG backpacks at Booth 208, WCCBT 2026

What struck us most:

  • The two principles translated. Visible pockets and fixed places needed almost no explanation. Professionals who work with ADHD clients every day immediately connected them to strategies they already teach: externalizing cues, structuring routines, reducing reliance on working memory.
  • The questions were practical. Not "does this cure anything?" (it doesn't, and we say so) — but "how would my clients use this on a real Tuesday morning?" That is exactly the conversation we hoped for.
  • We received homework. Size preferences, strap and weight feedback, requests for other form factors like totes and shoulder bags. All of it is now on our product improvement list.

Beyond the congress hall

During the same week, we held an in-store event at Kinokuniya San Francisco, where local shoppers could see and try KABAG in person. Meeting people outside the academic context — students, parents, professionals — gave us a second, everyday-life perspective to set beside the clinical one.

KABAG in-store event at Kinokuniya San Francisco

What we learned

Three things we are taking home:

  1. Listening works in any language. The carry challenges we heard in San Francisco echoed our 2024 survey in Japan — misplaced keys, forgotten essentials, bags that become black holes. The details differ; the friction is shared.
  2. Honesty about what KABAG is (and isn't) builds trust. KABAG is a consumer backpack, not a treatment. Saying this clearly, every time, was consistently received as a point in our favor — especially by professionals.
  3. We have work to do. New sizes and form factors, clearer English guidance, and better ways for the community to tell us what to improve. That work starts now.

What happens next

  • ABCT 2026, Baltimore (November 12–15). We have been invited to the ABCT Annual Convention and will be there — again, to listen first.
  • Product improvements. Feedback from WCCBT is feeding directly into our development of new sizes and form factors.
  • Staying accountable. We will keep reporting what we hear and what we change, on this site and in our newsletter.

If you were one of the people who stopped by our booth: thank you. You gave us more than we brought.

A note on what KABAG is

KABAG is a consumer backpack. It is not a medical device, clinical treatment, or therapy, and it is not a substitute for professional care. It was designed from real, everyday carry challenges to make items easier to see, return, and use. Individual experiences vary.