[Trends of occupational mental health in Japan]

Recently, promoting measures for workers' mental health has been one of the most important and pressing issues in occupational health. In this paper, I indicate the direction which the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare decided on and discuss the roles of in-plant occupational health staff. In-plant occupational health staff should attach great importance to "caseness" in their mental health activities. I express my personal opinion about the division of roles and coordination between in-plant occupational health staff and outside medical specialists. I also refer to the necessity of improvements in the workplace environment.