Industrial Safety and Health Act

If something has occurred that is specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a serious industrial injury(hereinafter referred to as a "serious industrial injury" in this Article), and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds it to fall under a case specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as one in which it is necessary to do so in order to prevent the recurrence of a serious industrial injury, the minister, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare may instruct an employer that it must prepare a plan to improve the safety or health of its workplace (hereinafter referred to as a "special safety and health improvement plan") and submit it to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Before preparing a special safety and health improvement plan, an employer must hear the opinion of a labor union consisting of the majority of workers at the workplace, if there is any, or the person representing the majority of workers at the workplace, if there is no labor union consisting of the majority of workers.

An employer as referred to in paragraph (1) and its workers must observe the special safety and health improvement plan.

On finding that a special safety and health improvement plan is not adequate to prevent the recurrence of a serious industrial injury, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, may instruct the employer to change the plan.

If an employer that has been instructed as under the provisions of paragraph (1) or the preceding paragraph has failed to do as instructed or if an employer that has prepared a special safety and health improvement plan has failed to follow that plan; and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that this is likely to cause a serious industrial injury, the minister may make recommendations to the employer to take the necessary measures to prevent a serious industrial injury.

If an employer that has received a recommendation under the preceding paragraph has failed to follow this, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may publicize this.

On finding that it is necessary to take comprehensive measures to improve equipment and other things at the workplace in order to prevent an industrial injury (excluding when the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare has found the equipment and other things fall under the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article), the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau may instruct the employer, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, to prepare an improvement plan concerning safety and health in the relevant workplace (hereinafter referred to as a "safety and health improvement plan").

The provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to safety and health improvement plans. In such a case, the phrase "paragraph (1)" in those paragraphs is deemed to be replaced with "paragraph (1) of the following Article".

Having given the instructions under the provisions of paragraph (1) or (4) of Article 78 and on finding that professional advice is necessary, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may recommend the employer to undergo a safety or health diagnosis by an industrial safety consultant or industrial health consultant, and further to hear the opinions of those professionals on the preparation or modification of the special safety and health improvement plan.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis if the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau gives instructions under paragraph (1) of the preceding Article. In such a case, the phrase "preparation or modification" in the preceding paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "preparation".

Industrial safety consultants are in the business of diagnosing safety in the workplace and giving guidance based on this in order to improve workers' level of the safety, using the title "industrial safety consultant", at the request of other persons, and for a fee.

Industrial health consultants are in the business of diagnosing health in the workplace and giving guidance based on this in order to improve the workers' level of the health, using the title "industrial health consultant", at the request of other persons, and for a fee.

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare conducts the industrial safety consultant examinations.

Industrial safety consultant examinations are conducted by written examinations and oral examinations in each category prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

No person other than one falling under any of the following items may take the industrial safety consultant examination:

a person who has graduated upon completion of a regular course of studies in a science program at a university (excluding a junior college) under the School Education Act (Act No. 26 of 1947) or a university under the previous University Order (Imperial Order No. 388 of 1918) or from a college under the former Technical College Order (Imperial Order No. 61 or 1903), and has at least five years' worth of practical experience in a safety-related capacity thereafter;

a person who has graduated upon completion of a regular course of studies in a science program at a junior college (including the first half of a program at a professional university of that Act (hereinafter referred to as "the first half of a program at a professional university")) or a technical college under the School Education Act (or a person who has completed the first half of a program at a professional university) and has at least seven years' worth of practical experience in a safety-related capacity thereafter;

a person found to have at least the same level of ability as a person set forth in the preceding two items, and that is as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare;

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may exempt a person who has the qualifications specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare from all or part of the written examination or the oral examination under paragraph (2).

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare conducts the industrial health consultant examinations.

The provisions of paragraphs (2) through (4) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the industrial health consultant examination. In such a case, the phrase "safety" in items (i) and (ii) of paragraph (3) of that Article are deemed to be replaced with "health".

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, may have a person that the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare designates (hereinafter referred to as the "designated consultant examination board") undertake all or part of the administrative functions involved in implementing industrial safety consultant examinations and industrial health consultant examinations (excluding administrative functions involved in decisions on who passes the examinations; hereinafter referred to as the "administration of consultant exams").