The 2025 amendment to the Industrial Safety and Health Act (Act No. 33 of 2025) marks a first step toward restructuring Japan’s occupational safety and health legal framework, centered on the protection of self-employed workers, in response to changes in industrial structure and increasingly diverse working styles. The most significant aspect is the amendment’s aim to extend protective measures to self-employed individuals—prompted by the Supreme Court ruling in the construction asbestos case—through the expansion and clarification of both the responsible parties and the scope of protection. In addition, the amendment addresses a broad range of issues, including the mandatory implementation of stress checks in small-scale workplaces (without penalties), the legal establishment of support measures for autonomous chemical management, and the statutory imposition of a duty of effort to improve working environments for elderly workers. This article aims to clarify the intent and key points of the amendment through an analysis of the government’s official notification.

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To clarify the current state of occupational health services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) overseas and the utilization of occupational health nursing professionals, information from seven countries was retrieved, collected, and comparatively analyzed to obtain insights applicable to Japan. It was revealed that in many countries, occupational health nurses play a vital role in providing occupational health services to SMEs. This is supported by legal systems that promote multidisciplinary collaboration and by the enhancement of education and training for occupational health nursing professionals. It is hoped that the findings will contribute to the promotion of occupational health activities among SMEs in Japan.

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This reports on the case study workshop conducted by Japan Association of Occupational Health Law, using a case of a worker with higher brain dysfunction attempting to return to work. The case involved a man in his 40s who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage during work and attempted to return to work while retaining higher brain dysfunction. Multiple professionals were involved, including an occupational physician, a occupational health nurse, an HR representative, and a lawyer. The workshop featured vigorous discussions on determining return-to-work feasibility, post-return job adjustments and reasonable accommodations, fitness for duty evaluation based on disability characteristics, and the scope of personal information disclosure. From a medical perspective, the importance of rehabilitation coordination and disability management spanning the acute phase through the living and occupational phases was emphasized. From a legal perspective, the principles of “recovery” and return to original position, along with the scope of reasonable accommodations, were clarified. Furthermore, from a human resources and labor perspective, the challenge of establishing criteria for reasonable judgment under highly uncertain circumstances was highlighted. Through this case, it became clear that effective return-to-work support requires integration of internal and external resources, interprofessional collaboration, and consistent, rational decision-making by the employer.

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In this case, public health nurses X1 and X2, who were employed at Company Y1 under a temp-to-perm arrangement, claimed to have suffered psychological distress due to power harassment by Y2, the occupational physician at Y1. They further alleged that Y1 unjustly refused their direct employment and thus sought damages and confirmation of their employment status as regular employees. The court recognized part of Y2’s power harassment and held Y1 liable as an employer. However, it dismissed the plaintiffs’ claim for confirmation of employment status, ruling that the refusal of direct employment was based on reasonable grounds. This article is based on an analysis of the court judgment published in Rōdō Hanrei (Labor Law Case Reports), Issue No. 1313.

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This paper provides an analysis of the provisions related to the promotion of supporting the balancing of medical treatment and work in the workplace contained in the Act to Partially Amend the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures, and Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, and Enriching Workers’ Vocational Lives, enacted in June 2025. Against the backdrop of the growing employment of older workers, the number of workers who continue to work while coping with illness has been increasing year by year, and this trend is expected to intensify further in the coming years. In this situation, it is necessary to develop a workplace environment that enables worker with illness to continue working while receiving appropriate medical treatment. The amended act enjoins employers to make reasonable efforts to implementation of supporting the balancing of medical treatment and work in the workplace, and further stipulates that the government shall formulate policy guidelines and offer administrative guidance to employers.

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This paper provides an analysis of the provisions related to the strengthening measures against harassment and the promotion of women’s active engagement contained in the Act to Partially Amend the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures, and Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, and Enriching Workers’ Vocational Lives, enacted in June 2025. Regarding measures against harassment, the law mandates employers to implement necessary measures in employment management to prevent customer harassment, defined as significantly troublesome behavior from customers or others, and sexual harassment directed at job seekers, including students engaged in job hunting. Furthermore, the legislation explicitly prohibits anyone from engaging in harassment within the workplace and includes provisions requiring the government to undertake awareness-raising and educational efforts to foster such normative consciousness within society. Concerning the promotion of women’s active engagement, the validity period of the Act on the Participation of Women’s Active Engagement in Professional Life has been extended by ten years, and the obligation for employers with 101 or more regularly employed workers to disclose information has been strengthened.

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[in Japanese]

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