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Abstract Introduction Heat strokes have become a serious occupational health problem in Japan. Therefore, the Japanese government has released a series of guidelines to prevent them. Methods We collected the official reports publicized by the Occupational Health Division of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan and summarized the number of work-related cases of heat-related illnesses in Japan, as well as the preventive measures officially recommended in the documents. Results In 2022, the number of heat-related illnesses in the workplace required 4 or more workday loss was 827 including 30 fatalities. Cases occurred in the construction and in the manufacturing industries accounted for 179 and 145, respectively. Labour inspectors investigated the fatal cases and pointed out the failures to measure Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) in 25 cases, to perform emergency response training in 26 cases, and to deliver emergency care in 28 cases. Discussion The governmental guideline named “STOP! Heat Stroke Cool Work Campaign” has been announced every year since 2017 and repeatedly emphasized the importance of WBGT; however, it seems its measurement are still uncommon. As various devices and websites are now available to directly measure or estimate WBGT all over Japan, it is expected that its measurement will become widespread to prevent heat-related illnesses arising at work by the end of the five-year national plan for preventing occupational diseases.
Togawa et al. (Mon,) studied this question.