Industrial Safety and Health Act

On finding it to be necessary to do so in order to ensure safety and health of the workers with regard to the structure of machinery or other such equipment of the type for which the relevant person has passed a type examination and equipment used to manufacture and inspect that machinery or other such equipment, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may have the relevant officials enter the workplace of the person that has undergone the type examination or the place where the machinery or other such equipment or facilities or other things connected to the type examination are found to be located, question persons concerned, and inspect machinery or other such equipment, facilities or other things, and other articles.

On finding it to be necessary to do so in order to ensure the proper operation of the services of consultants, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may have relevant officials enter the office of a consultant, question persons concerned, and inspect books and documents (including electronic and magnetic records, if the relevant data are prepared, provided, and kept as electronic or magnetic records instead of the books or documents) related to the consultant's services.

On finding it to be necessary to do so in order to ensure the proper operation of the services of a registered agency for design reviews and post-manufacturing inspections, registered agency for performance inspections, registered agency for individual examinations, registered agency for type examinations, registered inspection agency, designated examination board, registered training institution, designated consultant examination board, or designated registration institution (excluding a foreign registered agency for design reviews and post-manufacturing inspections, foreign registered agency for performance inspections, foreign registered agency for individual examinations, or foreign registered agency for type examinations (referred to as "foreign registered agency for inspections or examinations" in item (i) of Article 123)) (hereinafter referred to as a "registered agency or other prescribed organization"), the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau may have relevant officials enter its office, question the persons concerned, and inspect books, documents, and other articles related to its services.

On finding it to be necessary to do so in order to have a senior industrial health physician participate in the administrative functions under the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau may have the senior industrial health physician enter the workplace, question the persons concerned or inspect the record of work environment monitoring or medical checkup results and other articles.

The provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4) of Article 91 apply mutatis mutandis pursuant to respect to on-site inspections under the provisions of the preceding four paragraphs.

If an investigation will be undertaken into the causes of an industrial injury under the provisions of paragraph (2) or (3) of Article 93, and in light of the magnitude of the accident or any other such circumstances, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that it is necessary to do so, the minister may have the Japan Organization of Occupational Health and Safety (hereinafter referred to as "JOHAS") undertake that investigation.

On finding that it is necessary to do so, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may have JOHAS carry out an on-site inspection under the provisions of paragraph (1) of Article 94 (limited to one that is connected with an investigation as prescribed in the preceding paragraph).

If having JOHAS carry out an on-site inspection pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare is to indicate the location of the on-site inspection and other necessary particulars to JOHAS and instruct it that it must implement an on-site inspection.

Having undertaken an on-site inspection in accordance with the instructions referred to in the preceding paragraph, JOHAS must report the result to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The provisions of paragraph (3) and (4) of Article 91 apply mutatis mutandis pursuant to respect to on-site inspections under the provisions of the preceding paragraph (2). In such a case, the phrase "labor standards inspector" in paragraph (3) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "staff of the Japan Organization of Occupational Health and Safety".

On finding it to be necessary to do so in order to ensure the proper implementation of operations related to an investigation as prescribed in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article and an on-site inspection as prescribed in paragraph (2) of that Article, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may give the necessary orders to JOHAS related to these operations.

If there is a factual circumstance in the workplace that violates the provisions of this Act or an order issued under this Act, a person engaged in work may report that factual circumstance to the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices or to the labor standards inspector and request that appropriate action be taken to rectify it.

An employer must not dismiss a worker or otherwise subject a worker to disadvantageous treatment for having a report as referred to in the preceding paragraph.

An orderer, lessor of machinery or other such equipment, or any other person that is a counterparty to a contract with a person conducting a business involving a person engaged in work as referred to in paragraph (1) must not subject the person conducting the business to suspension of transactions or other disadvantageous treatment on the grounds that a report as referred to in that paragraph has been made.

If there is a factual circumstance that violates the provisions of Article 20 through Article 25, paragraph (1) of Article 25-2, paragraph (1) or (4) of Article 30-3, paragraph (1) of Article 31, Article 31-2, paragraph (1) of Article 33 or Article 34, the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices may order the violating employer, orderer, lessor of machinery or other such equipment, or building lessor to stop all or part of its work, to stop or alter the use of all or part of a construction, equipment, or raw material, or to do any other thing that is necessary to prevent an industrial injury .

The Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices may order persons engaged in work, contractors, and persons to which machinery or other such equipment or buildings are leased to do the necessary things in connection with the things that are ordered pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The labor standards inspectors may, if there is an imminent danger to the workers in a case as referred to in the preceding two paragraphs, immediately exercise the powers of the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices under those paragraphs.

Having given an order under paragraph (1) regarding a job being undertaken based on a contract for work, and upon finding that it is necessary to do so, the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices may issue a recommendation or demand to the orderer of the job (if the job is carried out based on multiple levels of contracts, this includes the parties to all contracts for work prior to that of the orderer of the job in question, but excludes the orderer that is subject to the order under paragraph (1)) regarding a thing that is needed in order to prevent an industrial injury, in connection with the factual circumstances constituting the relevant violation.

In a case other than the one prescribed in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, if there is an imminent danger of the occurrence of an industrial injury and there is an urgent necessity to do so, the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices may order a person conducting a business, to the extent necessary, to temporarily stop all or part of the work or to temporarily stop the use of all or part of the construction, equipment, or raw material, or to take other temporary measures necessary to prevent that industrial injury.

The Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices may order persons engaged in work to do the necessary things in connection with the things ordered pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If an industrial injury has occurred, on finding that it is necessary to do so in order to prevent a recurrence, the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau may instruct the employer involved in the industrial injury to have the general safety and health manager or a safety manager, health manager, general safety and health supervisor, or other person engaged in work to prevent industrial injuries at the workplace where the aforementioned industrial injury has occurred (hereinafter referred to as" person engaged in work to prevent industrial injuries") take a training course provided by a person designated by the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau within a fixed period of time.

An employer that has been instructed as under the provisions of the preceding paragraph must ensure that the person engaged in work to prevent industrial injuries take the training course referred to in that paragraph.

Beyond what is provided for in the preceding two paragraphs, Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare prescribes training course subjects and other necessary particulars concerning the training course referred to in paragraph (1).

If a person that may be engaged in the operations under the provisions of paragraph (1) of Article 61 pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph violates the provisions of this Act or an order under this Act and causes an industrial injury in relation to those operations, and on finding it to be necessary to do so in order to prevent a recurrence, the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau may instruct the person to receive training provided by a person designated by the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau, within a fixed period of time.

The provisions of paragraph (3) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the training in the preceding paragraph.

On finding it to be necessary to do so in order to bring this Act into effect, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices may have employers, workers, lessors of machinery or other such equipment, building lessors, transferors or providers of substances subject to notice, or consultants report the necessary particulars or order them to appear pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

On finding it to be necessary to do so in order to bring this Act into effect, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau or the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices may have a registered agency or other prescribed organization report the necessary particulars, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

On finding it to be necessary to do so in order to bring this Act into effect, the labor standards inspector may have employers or workers report the necessary particulars or order them to appear.

In order to promote measures that contribute to the prevention of industrial injuries, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may conduct an investigation into information concerning the situation surrounding the occurrence of accidents in which persons engaged in work were injured, contracted a disease, or died due to their work, and into other necessary matters.

When it is necessary to do so for the investigation referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may have persons conducting a business and persons engaged in work report the necessary particulars, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The authority of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare referred to in the preceding paragraph may be delegated to the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The authority delegated to the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph may be delegated to the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.