Abstract
Fatigue is considered as national issues of Japan and approximately 80% of the citizens feel fatigue in
daily life. If we can’t recover from fatigue and have chronic fatigue, it might not only affect their health
but also result in social and economic losses due to decreased labor productivity. Therefore, fatigue
management appropriate to their work environment is necessary to maintain a healthy and stable
workplace for the laborers. The aviation industry domain also recognizes the importance of fatigue
management to prevent accidents. International Civil Aviation Organization recommended the
establishment of a fatigue risk management system (FRMS) for pilots. In response, the Japanese authority
conducted a fatigue survey of airline pilots in 2019 and issued the FRMS notice in 2022.
Aeromedical Laboratory (AML) of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) has been conducting
fatigue surveys to improve the work environment and flight safety, and has made recommendations
regarding fatigue management to date. Thus, fatigue management is considered an important issue in
JASDF. In order to help fatigue management of each occupation, this paper outlines typical fatigue
assessment methods, introduces examples of various surveys including those conducted by AML, and
describes fatigue surveys tailored to the work characteristics in JASDF.
