English version - Fit for Work Europe

There are serious concerns that the shrinking workforce will not be able to cope with social
security demands of the ageing and ill population in future years (Nakamura, 2008). It is
predicted that by 2017, the Japanese aged 65 years and over will account for 30 per cent of
the population, that proportion rising to 40 per cent by 2050. This will place an an even greater
burden on the nursing home services in Japan. 3 It is therefore essential that there are provisions
to improve individuals’ health, so that people can continue to live and – where possible – work
independently.
At the same time, following the media focus on the high number of cases of death from
conditions related to overwork (karōshi) and suicides related to work stress, new initiatives have
been put in place aiming to improve workers’ mental health. However, much less is being done
to prevent the impact of chronic conditions, such as MSDs, on the working age population.
MSDs and chronic pain have significant impact on an individual’s productivity (Figure 3.2).
A number of other indicators suggest that workforce health must become an important priority
for policy makers and employers in the foreseeable future:
• A comparison of MSD prevalence by occupation revealed higher prevalence among
those doing professional work (20.5 per cent), office and technical work (18.1 per
cent), and part-time work (16.9 per cent), whereas the lowest prevalence was found in
students (7.0 per cent), followed by workers in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (12
per cent) and those with no occupation (13 per cent) (Nakamura, Nishiwaki, Ushida and
Toyama, 2011).
• 1.2 million individuals of working age are physically disabled (Ministry of Health, Labour
and Welfare (MHLW), 2006).
• Among a total of 87.9 million Japanese people aged 30 years or older in 2005, 21.4
million (24.3 per cent), 3.2 million (3.7 per cent), and 9.1 million (10.4 per cent) were
estimated to have low back, hip, and knee pain, respectively. The prevalence rates of low
back, hip, and knee pains will gradually increase in subsequent years, reaching 26.5 per
cent, 4.4 per cent, and 12.9 per cent, respectively by 2055 (Suka and Yoshida, 2009).
Despite the growing evidence of the impact of MSDs on the health and productivity of the
Japanese workforce, the early diagnosis and treatment of MSDs is only slowly becoming a
priority among Japanese decision-makers. Lack of comprehensive data is one reason why
many individuals in Japan do not receive appropriate interventions in time for the most efficient
management of their conditions.
3 Expert interview
Work and MSDs in Japan
Fit For Work? Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Japanese Labour Market 17