[Problems in the current education and training system for occupational health physicians in Japan and strategies to...

Occupational Health Physician (OHP) has been defined as a title in the Occupational Safety and Health Law since 1972 when the Law was first implemented. The Law stipulates that each manager of an establishment with 50 or more workers is requested to appoint an OHP from among qualified physicians. The small number of applicants to OHP, especially from the younger generation, has continued for more than twenty years causing the average age of OHPs in Japan to rise. The shortage of successors to OHPs in active service is also very serious. A rapid increase in the number of graduates from medical schools is expected in the near future and as a result many untrained physicians in occupational health will flow into this field. It is necessary to establish an educational and training system which is related to an OHP certification system, so that the ability of OHP can be improved and that they will be able to expand their specialty. To reach this final goal, analyses and planning on the following issues of OHP must be done comprehensively; responsibilities, specialty, educational methods and course, necessary number to be trained and its allocation, and cooperation with other specialists in the field. It is also crucial to establish an effective relationship between the occupational health service system and the community health service system. Some suggestions are made to promote these issues.