Japan's Scope of Workplace-Caused Diseases to Labor Standards Act

October 7, 2022. Japan’s MHWL proposes to add diseases caused by chemical substances, occupational cancer caused by MOCA, and brain and heart diseases caused by overwork to the labor standards act. Indeed, the expansion of Japan’s Scope of Workplace-Caused Diseases to Labor Standards Act seems most relevant in this day and age.

The sources of recent news and information from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) website are mostly in Japanese. If there are English materials on specific laws, topics, updates, etc, Verse endeavors to provide them in this blog. Again, the Ministry offers an English MHLW site that provides some important basic information.

Japanese company and staff registrations, and ongoing reporting procedures relating to all matters of employment law can be complex, even for Japanese companies, and must of course be handled in Japanese. As with all social welfare and labor law matters in Japan, please seek out professional Sharoushi support to ensure you and your company remain in compliance.

Verse Corporation publishes articles on timely issues in Japanese Social Welfare and Labour Law.

MHWL Update Summary.

Please note this Core press release announcing the recent review. The original is in Japanese.

As announced by the MHWL: Note: Some corrections, omissions and revisions have been made to assist readers.

Today, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will publish the report of the “Expert Committee on Article 35 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act” (Chairman: Yoshiharu Aizawa, Professor Emeritus of Kitasato University), which examines the scope of occupational diseases.

This investigative committee is to carry out medical examinations and periodically review the scope of work-related diseases listed in Appended Table 1-2 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act. In this report, these matters are addressed and updated:

Regarding diseases related to chemical substances listed in the ministerial notification, 13 diseases caused by chemical substances will be added and reviewed. Relevant links:
Regarding urinary diseases caused by 3,3’-dichloro-4,4’-diaminodiphenylmethane. Addition of tract tumors to Appended Table 1-2,
Addition of severe heart failure to Appended Table 1-2 as a target disease for brain and heart disease, and change of dissecting aortic aneurysm to aortic dissection The results of the review were summarized as being appropriate.

In response to this report, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare plans to revise relevant ministerial ordinances.

Additional Details. Japanese PDF’s