For Technical Intern Trainees
Protect your physical and mental health!

英語版
A Check Sheet to Safeguard Against Deathfrom Brain and Heart Conditions(Death from Overworking, etc.)

I feel very tired. I feel a lot of stress.
Check your state of health right away using this checklist!

Usually I feel ﬁne.
Even if you feel ﬁne, you should use the checklist once a month.

Japan International Training Cooperation Organization

Your Physical and Mental
Health Is Important

Take a look at the depicted-below graph. These are the statistics fortechnical intern trainees who died of brain or heart conditions in thepast ﬁve years. Unfortunately, a few to more than a dozen technicalintern trainees passed away each year.
The following risk factors shown on the right-hand page are involvedin the onset of brain or heart conditions. Even though you are notaware of mental stress or fatigue, it is possible that these factors
could have accumulated without your notice to a really dangerous
level.

Deaths in the past ﬁve years(Deaths) 50

40

4330

1620
105762005

2006

2007

9020082009（Fiscal year）

I have to be careful.

Total

The Main ThreeRisk Areas
Risk Factors in theWorking Environment

Risk Factors inHealth Management

1. Fatigue from working long hours.
2. Fatigue, mental strain, and stressfrom midnight working routine, etc.

1. Physical disorders identiﬁed
during medical checkups.
2. Symptoms such as chest pain, etc.

Risk Factors inEveryday Life
1. Lack of sleep.
2. Sudden weight gain from drinking
and eating too much or an
unbalanced diet, etc.

Check the state of your physical and mental health.

Physical and Mental Health
Check Sheet

Check items that apply to you within the past month.

Feel irritable

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Feel anxious

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Feel restless

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Feel depressed

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Cannot sleep well

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Feel unwellHardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Cannot concentrate

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Make many mistakes

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）

Face a strong sleepiness during work

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Feel unmotivatedHardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Feel exhausted (except after exercise)Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Feel exhausted upon waking in the morning

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Get tired more easily than before

Hardly ever（0）Sometimes（1）Often （3）Add up the numbers in parentheses.

Diagnosis

LowpointsLevel

Slightly Highpoints

Level

High

pointsCHECKYour degree of fatigue is…

points

Level

Total

points or more

Level

Extremelyhigh!

People at levels 3 and 4 need to be careful.
Proceed to the following risk factor checklist .
Note: People at levels 1 and 2 should also proceed with the following
checklist, since risk factors can be high even if you display no symptoms.

Risk Factor Check Sheet
Read the next page, "Hints for a Solution,"
if one or more of the following items apply to you.

Check the items that apply to you.

Risk Factors in the Working Environment
1.
2.
3.

4.
1.

Does your overtime work exceed 80 hours per month?

2.

Are you fatigued because work is a burden due to split
shifts, midnight working routine, irregular hours, or long hours
spent in the workplace?

3.

Do you feel any of the following types of mental
strain or stress?
You perform diﬃcult tasks in situations without
support or understanding from those around you
1. You cannot talk easily with your boss or colleagues.
2. Your boss or colleagues do not help you or are undependable

You feel pressure to perform
your work without mistakes
or feel that your work does
not suit you.

3. Your boss or colleagues do not oﬀer advice if you consult them about personal problems.

4.

Is your working environment very uncomfortable because it is severely cold,
there are huge temperature diﬀerences, there is loud noise, or you feel you
are in danger?

Risk Factors in the Health Management
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.

Have you been diagnosed as having an abnormality on
an electrocardiogram during a medical checkup?

2.

Have you been diagnosed with a lipid abnormality during a medical checkup?

3.

4.

Total cholesterol 220 mg/dl or higher

HDL cholesterol below 40 mg/dl

LDL cholesterol 140 mg/dl or higher

Neutral fat 150 mg/dl or higher

If you do not understand theresults of your medical checkups,
ask someone in the organization
implementing technical interntraining or the supervisingorganization.

Have you been diagnosed with any of the following conditions during a medical checkup?
High blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or higher)

Obesity (BMI of 25 or higher)

Diabetes

Uric acid level of 7.0 mg/dl or higher

Have you had any of the following physical symptoms?
Sudden diﬃculty breathing and chest pain.

Headache and nausea.

Cold and numb hands and feet.

Palpitations

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Risk Factors in the Everyday Life

1.
2.
3.
4.
1.

Do you sleep no more than 5 hours per day?

2.
3.

Have you suddenly gained or lost weight?

4.

Do you feel heavily stressed by things like the following?
Not getting along well with colleagues

Frustration from not understanding Japanese

Private life being invaded

Have no one to conﬁde in.

Inability to release stress on days oﬀ

Concern about family and friends in your home country

Do you have any of the following lifestyle habits?
Smoke heavily.

Eat irregularly.

Drink heavily.

Do not get enough nutrition.

Exercise very little.

Hints for a Solution

Risk Factors in the Working Environment

Resolving an issue often requires cooperation from the organization implementing
technical intern training or the supervising organization, not just eﬀorts on your part.
It takes courage to make a strong assertion to the supervising organization or theorganization implementing technical intern training, but, otherwise, you could lose
everything, let alone your health. Try to make a consultation straight away with advisers
assisting technical intern trainees in the supervising organization or the organization
implementing technical intern training, or with your boss or colleagues at your workplace.
①When it comes to working long hours (overworking), it is imperative
to refrain from overworking by yourself to protect your health.
②To solve risk factors other than the factor of overworking, work
reassignment may be necessary if possible. If your technical interntraining plan needs to be changed along with the work reassignment,
the supervising organization or the organization implementing
technical intern training have to obtain an approval by theImmigration Bureau and the Japan International Training
Cooperation Organization (JITCO).
③If the issue simply cannot be resolved within the organization
implementing technical intern training. Changing your organization
implementing technical intern training is one of the options.
Please note that changing your organization implementing technicalintern training is an exceptional measure requiring approval of theImmigration Bureau.

Note: The occupational category and type of work in your current
technical intern training program cannot be changed.

Risk Factors in the Health Management

Trainees with health risk factors are at a higher risk of sudden death from a brain or heart
condition.
Follow the doctor's instructions written on your medical checkup results sheet.
If abnormalities in your medical checkup have been pointed out, take care not to push
yourself in your technical intern training or in your day-to-day life.
If you wish to consult with a physician again, ask the organization implementing technicalintern training or the supervising organization to make rearrangement for further medical
checkup.
「医療機関への自己申告表・補助問診票」利用のすすめ
Recommendation to use the Self-Report Form for Medical Institutions andSupplementary Questions About Your Physical Conditions

JITCOでは、技能実習生のみなさんが日本語と母国語併記の各症状の項目にチェックを付けることで自らの症状を医療機関に伝えることができる「医療機関への自己申告表・補助問診票」という資料を用意しています。技能実習生手帳やJITCO発行の法的保護情報講習テキストに掲載してあり、またJITCOホームページからもダウンロード可能です。
JITCO has prepared a document called a Self-Report Form for Medical Institutions andSupplementary Questions About Your Physical Condition, which allow you tocommunicate your symptoms to a medical institution by putting a checkmark in ablank next to your symptoms on a sheet written in both Japanese and your nativelanguage. It is included in the Technical Intern Trainee Handbook and the Textbook
for Legal Protection in Foreign Technical Intern Training Programs published byJITCO, and can be downloaded from JITCO's website.

Risk Factors in the Everyday Life

Trainees with an everyday life risk factor are at a higher risk of brain andheart conditions. You have to behave in a very cautious manner even if
you have no particular symptoms. Try to improve your lifestyle habits,
such as smoking and drinking.
The following are some ways to cope with stress in your everyday life.
If living with colleagues in the same apartment and share a room witha colleague, have roommate allocation changed or secure your privacy
by putting up a curtain between your beds. Expand the activities inyour life by going out, exercising often, riding a bicycle, or buying
a computer.

! What to Do in an Emergency !

What would you do if you happen to see someone collapse suddenly orﬁnd someone who is not responding?

Call an ambulance by dialing 119 on a telephone.
Ambulances are free in Japan. Dial 119 on a telephone and give theoperator the following information in Japanese:

1. Your location (address).
2. The situation (what happened to who, when,
where, and how are they doing now)
Give as much information as you can, like: My colleague collapsed and is
not breathing. His face is blue and he cannot get up. He is not conscious.
Also, contact an adviser assisting technical intern trainees at the organization
implementing technical intern training or the supervising organization or aninterpreter and communicate the situation.

Apply Chest Compressions
If the person does not respond when you call him or her in a loud voice tapping on hisor her shoulder and is either not breathing or breathing irregularly as if sobbing convulsively,
apply chest compressions repeatedly until an ambulance arrives.

1

Lay the patient face up. Then kneel
to the side of the patient's chest.

2

The point to apply compressions is
the lower half of the sternum (thebone in the middle of the chest).

!

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herss
re

3

Apply adequate pressure to depress
the chest at least 5 cm vertically.
Then release the pressure so that thechest wall returns to its original position.

Vertically

P

5cm

4

Repeat the compression and release ofpressure at a fast tempo of at least
100 repetitions per minute.

5Do not stop the chest compressions.
If there is more than one rescuer, switch
every 1-2 minutes and keep going.

More than
100 times!

1minuteReference: How to Use an AED
Recently, devices called AEDs have been placed inbuildings, factories, and commercial establishments ofa certain size in Japan. Using an AED to apply anelectric shock is very eﬀective in cardiopulmonary
resuscitation. If you can ﬁnd this device near yourlocation, make a try to use it. The device will orally
give the operating instructions in Japanese. If you
cannot operate the device because you do not understand the instructions, ask a Japanese person forhelp.

10Please follow
these steps.

!

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nims.
citatioresus cond countesandReference Information

JITCO Consultation Services in Foreign Languages
JITCO s foreign staﬀ accepts telephone consultations or related
inquiries from technical intern trainees.

11:00‒19:00 （except 13:00‒14:00）

Every week

Mon.

Tue.

Wed.

Thu.

13:00‒20:00

Fri.

Sat.

IndonesianChineseVietnamese

TelephoneToll free：0120-022330

Ordinary
telephone：03-6430-1111

Facsimile

03-6430-1114

Interviews with Physicians in theCase of Long Working Hours
Japanese law stipulates that an organization implementing technical intern training
must provide an interview with and guidance from a physician for a trainee if a trainee
works more than 100 hours in a month and the trainee makes such a request.
The law also stipulates that an organization implementing technical intern training
must make an eﬀort to provide an interview with and guidance from a physician orother measures for a trainee if a trainee works more than 80 hours in a month,especially if this situation continues for two or more months and the worker makes
such a request.

Medical Checkups
The law requires a medical checkup at the time of being hired, a routine medical
checkup once per year (once every six months for work designated by law ashazardous), and a special medical checkup for workers engaged in special tasks, suchas those involving organic solvents, dusts, or other speciﬁed chemical substances.
The law stipulates that an organization implementing technical intern training must
notify you of the results of medical checkups, must ask the physician's opinion
about measures needed to maintain your health if any abnormalities are found,and must take those steps.
The notiﬁcation of medical checkup results usually includes the range of normal
numbers for each checkup item. If there is an abnormality, a mark showing caution
will be added to each item, and a recommended course of action (such asrecommended follow-up, detailed examination required, or treatment required) will
be indicated in the overall assessment column.

11