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Volume 37, Issue 1
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Part 1. Migrant Forestry WorkAkinori HISASHIGE, Shinichi KONDO, Hiroshi OHARA, Masanori GOTO1988 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 1-10
Published: May 30, 1988
Released on J-STAGE: August 11, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSHigh economic growth since the late 1950's has brought about a severe labour shortage in Japan. Japanese industry sought migrant workers as one reliable source of labour. As seasonal and unskilled workers, they were employed in a wide variety of trades ; for example, construction, manufacturing, forestry and transportation. However, some of the migrant work was becoming a principal and nonseasonal occupation, and specialized. Migrant forestry and tunnel-construction work are two examples of such specialized work.
To identify health problems among them, we examined the factors affecting workers' entry into migrant forestry and tunnel-construction work, working conditions, and health care services at the workplace by interviewing 65 migrant wokers identified at Hayama Village in Kochi Prefecture, one of the areas well known for providing migrant wokers. Moreover, we carried out health examinations for vibration disease and pneumoconiosis. In this report, we show the results of analysis on 35 migrant forestry workers.
The main factors affecting their entry into migrant forestry work were unstable and poor socioeconomic conditions in the area and the strong demand for a workforce during the rapid economic growth from the late 1950's in Japan. Most of the wage configuration was for piece and contracted work, which promoted long working hours and above-average consecutive work days. They engaged in cutting down, collecting and transporting trees, using vibrating tools such as chain saws, bush cutters, collecting machines and so on. High levels of vibration-exposure quite exceeded the limit of the Ministry of Labour and lasted continuously over 17 years. A difference in labor conditions and working situations was observed between migrant workers who devoted themselves to migrant forestry work and those who did not. Health care administration including health examinations was inadequate. There had been no case of vibration disease identified at the workplace. However, 68 percent among 25 examinees were diagnosed as suffering from vibration disease. Moreover, 40 percent of the subjects experienced absences of more than 4 days due to occupational accidents.View full abstractDownload PDF (1501K) -
Ryoji NAKAYAMA1988 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 11-17
Published: May 30, 1988
Released on J-STAGE: August 11, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn 1945, the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Japanese government took a nutrition survey on Tokyo residents under the directives of the General Headquarters of Allied Forces. Since 1948, a nationwide survey has been conducted on a yearly basis with a sample of about 20, 000 people selected randomly from 300 districts, to obtain the basic data necessary for working out health improvement measures.
The results of the survey have been published every year in the report known as “the Present Status of Nutritional Conditions of the Japanese People.”
In 1977, the author presented a report in which changes in weight by age were analyzed every ten years. The present report is a followup study of the government survey results over the past 10 years. The findings of the study are as follows:
Obesity in not evident in people 20 years old. However, it manifests itself to a significant extent in men in their 20s. Since 1980, obesity has become apparent among women in their 20s, although to a lesser degree than in men. Both men and women put on weight as they grow older, but in most cases the obesity trend turns downward in their 50s. They all lose weight in their 60s.View full abstractDownload PDF (856K) -
Yoshiro URUTA1988 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 18-31
Published: May 30, 1988
Released on J-STAGE: August 11, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIbaraki Prefecture is noted for its high mortality rates among babies in the perinatal period. During 1984, 10. 9 of every 1, 000 perinatal babies died, compared with the national average of 8. 7. In the prefecture, however, there are considerably wide gaps in the survival odds of perinatal babies from region to region.
Statistics covering 92 cities, towns and villages in Ibaraki Prefecture showed that perinatal mortality rates during the period of 1979-83 stood at 13.4 on the average. The average of the top 10 municipalities on the deathrate list was 22.7, while that of the last 10 municipalities was 7.18. The municipalities marking higher rates are concentrated in the southeastern part (6regions) and western part (1 region) of the prefecture, and the municipalities marking lower rates are located in northern Ibaraki (6 places).
The reason for this uneven distribution remains to be seen. However, we have investigated into the situations of these municipalities in terms of the size of population, live birth rate, fatal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, neonatal mortality rate and early neonatal deaths. Furthermore, a survey was carried out on the number of deliveries in hospitals and weight of newborns in the northern, southeastern and southern/central parts of the prefecture.
It was found that only three medical institutions have NICU (intensive care unitfor neonates) across the prefecture. This number is rather small considering the number of beds. This may be partly responsible for the high rate of perinatal mortality rate in Ibaraki Prefecture. The rate in our hospital, wich is located in the southern part of the prefecture, has dropped from 19.8 to 9.7 since a NICU was installed.
The present paper will also discuss other findings in the high perinatal mortality rate regions in southeastern Ibaraki Prefecture.View full abstractDownload PDF (1819K) -
per thousand persons employedMasami MIKURUBE1988 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 32-37
Published: May 30, 1988
Released on J-STAGE: August 11, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSRecent statistics show that agricultural accidents occur at a rate of 15.2 per 1, 000 persons among the farmers in Kanagawa Prefecture who are insured under the workmen's accident compensation insurance system. The rate, compared with the average of 5.5 in other industries, bespeaks the fact that people engaged in farming are at alarmingly high risk.
There are various factors that are responsible for the high accident rate. Many farms in Kanagawa Prefecture are on sloping terrain and terraced, and farm roads are narrow and treacherous. These are considered to be potential accident-causing factors.
Among human factors are (1) the aging of farmers and theirl slowing down in Work ;(2) their indisposition due to poor health;(3) the engaging in intensive farmwork on Saturdays and Sundays (most farmers are part-timers);(4)“Solitary work” and inadequate safety measures; and (5) anxieties over the future of agriculture.
All these factors arise from the structural weakness of the nation's agriculture. Therefore, it can be said that agriculture is a structurally hazardous enterprise.View full abstractDownload PDF (778K) -
Tetsuo MORIMOTO, Kinya MURATA, Kazumori SHINMURA, Yuji KADO, Mitsuru S ...1988 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 38-41
Published: May 30, 1988
Released on J-STAGE: August 11, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSLiver function influenced by drinking were studied in cases of a thorough physical examination. Objects of our study were 172 cases who entered in our clinic during past two years. 172 cases were divided into three groups. 1st group was 70 cases who had drunk less than 20 grams of ethyl alcohol a day, 2nd group was 49 cases who had drunk 20 grams a day and 3rd group was 53 cases who had drunk 40 grams a day.
GOT, GOT/GPT, γ-GTP, CHE and LAP were changed significantly with the increase of drinking as a result of study of these three groups. Especially it was thought that GOT/GPT, γ-GTP and LAP reflected most sharply the grade of alcoholic liver injury.View full abstractDownload PDF (394K) -
[in Japanese]1988 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 42-43
Published: May 30, 1988
Released on J-STAGE: August 11, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (226K) -
1988 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 44-52
Published: May 30, 1988
Released on J-STAGE: August 11, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (1244K) -
1988 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 53-64
Published: May 30, 1988
Released on J-STAGE: August 11, 2011
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (1800K)
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