Historical Improvement of Legal Systems of Safety and Health for Mariners in Japan

摘要

1.Introduction Whether it is labor at sea or on land, the protection of the life,body, and health of workers is more important than anything else. The number of Japanese mariners or seafarers working at sea in Japan is 74,618 (2007), a number that is extremely small compared to the total working population of approximately 63,000,000 workers (2007). The ratio of accidents involving mariners (occupational accidents causing absences of more than four days),however,is consistently higher when compared with occupational accidents on land (See Fig.1 and Fig. 2). This paper will focus on the laws and regulations enacted to secure the safety and health of mariners and will describe the historical transition of regulatory development to prevent accidents under the land-oriented Industrial Safety and Health Act (Law No. 57 of 1972). The author will then describe the safety and health education-related provisions,which are important for the protection of mariners and the prevention of accidents.