日本长时间工作导致的健康问题:工作时间、工人补偿(过劳死)和预防措施外文翻译资料

英语原文共 4 页，剩余内容已隐藏，支付完成后下载完整资料

2020届英文翻译

题 目： Health Problems due to Long Working Hours in Japan:Working Hours,Workersrsquo;Compensation (Karoshi), and Preventive Measures

英文原文

Health Problems due to Long Working Hours in Japan:

Working Hours,Workersrsquo;Compensation (Karoshi), and Preventive Measuresa

Kenji IWASAKI¹*, Masaya TAKAHASHI¹ and Akinori NAKATA1, 2

1Institute of Industrial Health, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Nagao 6-21-1, Tama-ku,

Kawasaki 214-8585, Japan

2 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA

Received July 3, 2006 and accepted August 17, 2006

Abstract: Late in the 1970s, serious social concern over health problems due to long working hours

has arisen in Japan. This report briefly summarizes the Japanese circumstances about long working

hours and what the Government has achieved so far. The national statistics show that more than 6 million people worked for 60 h or more per week during years 2000 and 2004. Approximately three hundred cases of brain and heart diseases were recognized as labour accidents resulting from overwork (Karoshi) by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) between 2002 and

2005. Consequently, the MHLW has been working to establish a more appropriate compensation

system for Karoshi, as well as preventive measures for overwork related health problems. In 2001, the MHLW set the standards for clearly recognizing Karoshi in association with the amount of overtime working hours. These standards were based on the results of a literature review and medical examinations indicating a relationship between overwork and brain and heart diseases. In 2002, the MHLW launched the program for the prevention of health impairment due to overwork, and in 2005 the health guidance through an interview by a doctor for overworked workers has been enacted as law. Long working hours are controversial issues because of conflicts between health, safety, work-life balance, and productivity. It is obvious that we need to continue research regarding the impact on worker health and the management of long working hours.

Key words: Long working hours, Working time law, Workersrsquo; compensation, Karoshi, Health measures

Introduction

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) report (2004)1), in 2001, 28.1% of Japanese employees were working for 50 h or more per week. This figure is much higher than those in European countries such as Netherlands (1.4%), Sweden (1.9%), Finland (4.5%), and Germany (5.3%). Reflecting this substantial number of long hour workers, we have been facing a number of health problems due to long working hours in Japan2–7). Karoshi is regarded

*To whom correspondence should be addressed.

aPresented at the First NIIH-NIOSH Symposium on Long Working

Hours, March 22, 2006, Cincinnati, USA.

as the ultimate consequence. Recently the Japanese government has been tackling the establishment of a more appropriate compensation system for Karoshi and various preventive measures for overwork related health problems8).

In this article, we review the current situation concerning

working hours and Karoshi in Japan.

Working Hours and the Law in Japan

Figure 1 shows the number of employees by weekly working hours in Japan according to the Labour Force Survey (2004)9). The number of employees working 60 h or more per week is 6.39 million, which corresponds to 12% of non-

538

Fig. 1. Numbers of non-agricultural employees by weekly working hours in Japan (Japan Statistics Bureau, Annual Report on the Labour Force Survey 2004).

The total number of non-agricultural employees is 53.19 million in 2004.

agricultural employees. The number of employees working

49 h or more per week (the sum of employees working 49–

1. and 60 or more hours per week) is 15 million (28%); the proportion of which is predominantly male.

Figure 2 shows yearly variations in the number of

employees working 60 h or more per week in the period of

1967 to 2004 based on the Labour Force Survey10). From

1975 to 1988, its number increased rapidly to 8 million and

it was during this period that Karoshi became a well-known problem of health and workersrsquo;compensation in our society.

Despite a decrease to fewer than 6 million workers exceeding

1. h or more per week, mainly because of an economical recession in the 1990s, this number has again started to increase gradually.

Working hour regulations in the Labour Standards Law11)

(LSL) maintained an 8-h workday and a 48-h workweek system

until a large-scale revision in 1987. The 1987 LSL revision introduced a 40-h workweek and 8-h workday system.

LSL allows overtime and rest-day work in the event of

labour-management agreements called “Art. 36 agreement”. However, the LSL had no limitation on the amount of overtime work except for the two-hours per day limitation for underground mine work and other hazardous work specifie

剩余内容已隐藏，支付完成后下载完整资料

资料编号：[255157]，资料为PDF文档或Word文档，PDF文档可免费转换为Word