Font Size
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (JNIOSH) is the only comprehensive research institute for occupational safety and health in Japan. Under the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Act (2006), JNIOSH is actively conducting scientific research in order to contribute to administration of the government and for workers in industry, by eliminating industrial accidents and diseases, promoting workers’health, and creating a safe and comfortable working environment.
As of the merger in 2006, the NIIS had 64 years history, and the NIIH 56 years history. JNIOSH is therefore in a unique position to take advantage of the amalgamation of two institutes, both of which hold extensive knowledge on the prevention of health and safety risks at work. This combined expertise will help augment current research and practice.
Principles
The principles of JNIOSH activities are as follows:
1) To conduct comprehensive and interdisciplinary research on industrial safety and health based on the long history of the NIIS and the NIIH.
2) To contribute to governmental activities in their efforts to prepare laws, regulations, technical standards, guidelines, etc., and to investigate and prevent industrial accidents.
3) To promote collaborative studies with universities and public institutions, in order to perform effective and efficient research, to maintain an advanced research and technical level, and to innovate research activities.
4) To actively collect research needs from workplaces, disseminate research findings to academic and professional societies, and provide developing countries and organizations with technical support.
Priority Research Areas
1) Relationships between workers’ physical and mental conditions and industrial accidents.
2) Preventive measures for major accidents which need special knowledge and technologies for their prevention.
3) Mechanisms and preventive measures of newly emerging accidents and health impairments which arise due to the advancement of industrial technologies and changing work environments.
4) Overwork and mental stress.
5) Health effects of chemical substances of administrative importance, e.g., nano materials and physical agents: etiology and prevention.