Vol. 17 No. 3 May/June 2020

INSIDEVoicesfrom theSeafarers
Page 42 more local gov’ts reduce resident tax
With decision, Shima, Yaizu join Yokkaichi, Toba in recognizing importance of seafarers’ role in society, economy

Seamen are forced to stayaway from their families
and overland lives whileworking at sea for long
periods of time as members ofoceangoing vessels, deep-sea fishing boats and the like. They cannot even enjoy administrative services, either.
To help those seafarers, the All
Japan Seamen’s Union (JSU) hasbeen staging a campaign for a longtime now for the implementationof an exclusive taxation system forseafarers. The campaign has been
going to widely promote the importance of seafarers in society,and to help secure and develop
successors.
As for reductions in the resident tax for seafarers, the cities of
Yokkaichi and Toba, both in Mie
Prefecture, adopted measures infiscal 2014 and fiscal 2016, respectively. Their actions gave seafarers a reduction of 50 percentof the per capita rate of their resident taxes.
In fiscal 2020, Shima, anothermunicipality in Mie Prefecture,and Yaizu in Shizuoka Prefecture
decided to lower resident tax rates.
The JSU will continue to orchestrate its campaign to encourage other local municipalities tofollow the fiscal decisions madeby the leaders of the four governments.

Port of Toba in Mie Prefecture

Port of Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture

Port of Yaizu in Shizuoka Prefecture

Port of Shima in Mie Prefecture

7 dangerous diseases, disorders seafarers should be aware ofWorking on ships has its perks,
but it’s also a well-known fact thatworking at sea is one of the mosthazardous occupations, in regards
to personal health and safetyconcerns of seafarers. Apart fromaccidents, seafarers are prone tocertain serious diseases and healthhazards due to the nature of onboard work, change in climaticconditions, type of cargo carried,
working hours, materials being
handled, epidemic and endemic
diseases, personal habits etc.
Although seafarers go through astrict medical test before joining avessel, it is evident that the life ofseafarers is constantly at risk while
out at sea and what makes it moreworse is the lack of professional
medical attendance (doctors) onboard.
The following listed diseases/
illnesses can commonly affect persons working onboard merchantmarine vessels.
1. Hand Arm Vibration Syn-drome (HAVS):
Hand transmitted vibrationis one of the major hazards thatseveral seafarers face during theircourse of work. Operating power
tools such as chipping machine(rust bust), needle guns and hand
held grinders is the main reason
for such syndrome. Frequent andprolonged exposure to such power
tools results in hand –arm vibration syndrome and it may lead topermanent disability if not treatedin time. The common symptoms ofthis hazard are tingling of fingers,
numbness and blanching and evenpain in the arm and wrist. Lack ofawareness and improper guidelines
on safe limits of usage or exposure
to such tools and machinery, alongwith other factors such as smoking,circulatory problems and improper
diet etc. make seafarers more vulnerable to this disease.
2. Cardio-Vascular Disease(CVD):
Cardio- vascular disease is ascommonly found in the seafaring
community as in the general population. Various mortality studies
have revealed that the percentage of seafarers who die becauseof cardio vascular diseases is because of common factors which
are a combination of genes, age,smoking and other reasons influenced by conditions aboard suchas stress, diet, lack of exercise etc.
With minimum number of crew
on board ships, multitasking, andlack of leisure and recreation facilities, high stress levels are prevalent
among seafarers, which is a major
cause for Cardio Vascular diseases.
Although medicines such as isosorbidedinitrate , glycerol –tirnirate
for acute chest pain and metoprolol tartrate, adrenaline, atropine forheart rhythm disorders are available on board, in case of a severe
heart stroke, which requires immediate medical assistance, evacuation to the shore becomes difficult
or sometimes impossible, posing

great risk to the lives of seafarers.
3. Musculoskeletal Disorder(MSD):
According to a survey conducted by a European based healthresearch facility on board Norwegian and Danish flag offshore
vessels mainly (PSV and AHTS),
seafarers were reported to sufferfrom serious disorders related tomuscular and skeleton structure of
their body. The reason was that asoffshore operations are carried out
by modern fleets with high end
technology and round the clock
schedules in all types of weather
conditions, many seafarers workon straight 12 hours shift or 6
on 6 off shifts, which leaves themwith very less time to do any major
physical activities. MSD is a maincause for many seafarers to takelonger breaks from sea life, sometimes even leading to disability. As
they say prevention is better thancure, exercise and stretching is recommended to prevent Musculo-skeletal Disorder. Modern ships
have good gym facilities but lackof time and motivation is a greatchallenge faced.
4. Cancer:
1 out of 8 deaths globally is because of cancer and the scenario isgetting worse. As far as seafarers
are concerned there has also been a
gradual increase in various cases ofcancers. The most common among
them being lungs cancer, renalCancer, leukaemia and lymphoma.
Even though occupational hazardous such as asbestos, benzene,
benzidines are being removed orsubstituted on ships, new potential carcinogens such as beryllium(used on Product tankers), cadmium, lead etc. have been introduced
in to the work place. Officers andcrew working on both deck andengine fall prey to this deadly disease due to continuous exposure tosuch toxic substances.
Continued on Back Page

HEALTH & FITNESS(2)

MAY/JUNE 2020

On-board Exercises

Actress Kaoru Yumi presents the Nishino Breathing Method天天翔
翔

Tensho—imagine a bird spreading its wings wide
to fly in the sky

Fully remove tension from your body when bending forward, and rotate yourarms so that your palms face upward. When bending backwards, do it slowly,
relaxing and expanding your chest, and continue to breathe out. Ideally, holdyour position for a few seconds when bending backwards.
As with other sokushin breathing exercises, Tensho also improves blood circulation, effective when you have a backache and/or tend to feel chilly. It is important
to do it slowly in a relaxed state.

1. Relax your entire body, withyour feet shoulder-width apart.
Exhale down toward the soles ofyour feet.

Points to do‘Sokushin’ breathing

Breaths in through your nose and outthrough your mouth. Imagine a bigtree absorbing water from its roots
and deliver to each leave. Inhale as if
breaths were taken from the soles of your feetand up through your knees, thighs, lower abdomen. While keeping attention on your anus
lightly, continue to breathe in through yourbackbone all way to hyakue (the vertex of yourhead). Then hold your breath lightly until yourbreathing traverse through your gut. And thentake breaths out toward the soles of your feet.
Do not push yourself to trace all the passage
with just one breath, you can stop on the way, and breathe several times.
Do the Sokushin breathing in a relaxed and a comfortable way.

5. Bend forward all the way. While rotating
your arms so your palms face upward, take thebreaths out to the bottoms of your feet.

8. Raise your body. Breathe in, to the
top of your head, hold it gently, thenbring it down to your lower abdomen.

2. While breathing inthrough your nose using
the Sokushin Breathing
Method, raise your arms
to shoulder height.

6. Raise your body gradually, while breathingin, taking it to the top of your head, holding
it gently and then bringing it down to yourlower abdomen.

9. Lower your arms slowly, while
continuing to breathe out.

3. When breaths aretaken up to the top ofyour head, hold themslowly first, and thenbring them down toyour lower abdomen.
Turn your palms facing
upward before starting
to breath out.

7. Bend backwards, while continuing tobreathe out. Rotate your palms and spreadyour arms upward. Take the breaths down tothe bottoms of your feet.
4. While breathing out
through your mouth,bend forward. At thesame time, rotate yourarms to turn your palms
over.

10. When the breathing has reached
the bottoms of your feet, return toyour starting position.

MAY/JUNE 2020

蓮
蓮
行
行

HEALTH & FITNESS(3)

Rengyo—imagine a bright, colorful image of lotus
flowers blooming all together on the blue surface
of waterTake deep breaths with the Sokushin Breathing Method using your hands to draw
in your breaths. Once the breaths go down to your lower abdomen, bend one knee,and stretch the other leg gently. Relax your upper body as much as possible, andplace your palms flat on the floor. Paying attention to the tips of your hands andfeet, you can make your body more flexible and move more smoothly.
Rengyo can trim your waist and thighs.

5. While breathing in, point the toes of your left feet upward.
Shoot a look at that foot.

1. Spread your legs nearlyas twice as shoulder-width.
Breathe out slowly to the bottoms of your feet.

6. While continuing to breathe in, raise your arms again asof holding a big tree. Shift your weight back to where it was.

2. While breathing in throughyour nose using the Sokushin
Breathing Method, make acircle with your arms as if you
were gently embracing a bigtree with them. Squat downat the same time. Bring yourbreathing to the top of yourhead, hold it gently then down
to your lower abdomen.

3. While breathing out through your mouth, shift
your weight to your right.

7. When your breathing has reached thevertex of your head,
hold it and thentake it to your lowerabdomen. Repeat theactions (in 3-6) withyour right leg. Whilebreathing out, lower
your arms slowly.
Straighten your knees
gradually.

Institute of Nishino Breathing Method

8. Fully breathe out and once it
has reached the bottoms of yourfeet, return to your starting position.

4. Stretch your left leg gently, and place both hands on thefloor as if you were trying to push down a small wooden board
floating on the surface of water, feeling resistance from wateron your palms. Have the bottom of your left foot on the floor
without exertion. Take your breaths out to the bottom of yourfeet.

Email:info@nishinojuku.com
Internet:

https://www.nishinojuku.com/english/e_top.html

All JApAn SeAmen’S Union
15-26, Roppongi 7-Chome,Minato-Ku, Tokyo 106-0032
Tel.: (03) 5410-8320
Fax: (03) 5410-8336
E-mail: iss@jsu.jp
Internet: http://www.jsu.or.jp
Publisher: Hiroyuki Tachikawa
Send inquiries to the attention ofMr. Hiroyuki Watanabe,
Director, Foreign Trades Dept.

SEAFARERS’ CORNER/NEWS(4)MAY/JUNE 2020

VOICES from SEAFARERS

Officers and crew of MV NORD HAKATA
Shipshape condition keeps everybody to look sound and healthy. Our team demand and inspire every seafarer for fitness in a bit avoiding the on-going pandemic. Get well everyone!!

C/M Alejandro B. Parba and a crewmember ofMV NYK DEMETER
Our wish goes to each and every one to be safe and not
be afflicted by serious diseases whether on board and/orelsewhere. Knowing that our love ones are staying at home
and are all healthy until this pandemic is over will give us
peace of mind while we’re at sea.
Officers and crew of MV KASHIMA MARU
Coronavirus had suddenly surge throughout the globe since last year. Nobody knows when would be the first cure orvaccine will emerge to eradicate this disease into an end. As seafarers who value lives, we encourage everybody to use theappropriate hygienes and protections.

Officers and crew of
MV IKAN KERAS
There’s nothing we could offer to our fellow seafarers
except a reminder to be aware of this global pandemic.
Please set your sail smoothly and be healthy.

Master and some crewmembers of
MV CONCARAN
We are encouraging everybody to observe safety precautions at all times. Likewise, we urge all the seafarers of
the world to bolster their immune system and stamina toovercome this pandemic wisely.

Officers and crew of
MV OTOTACHIBANA
Our sincere wish is to extend some reminders to seafarers in evading the dreaded pandemic. Please maintain aclean and healthy surroundings. Cleanliness and wearingof protective gears are preliminary defenses to prevent thespread of the disease. Good luck and have a safe voyage.

These occupational hazards demand support for seafarers
Continued from Page 1
Personnel working on oil, chemical and product tankers are majorly exposed to chemicals and therisk of developing various typesof cancer, including brain cancer
and leukaemia, is extremely high.
Other factors such as smoking,exposure to UV radiation, lack ofsleep etc. also aggravate conditions
leading to cancer.
5. Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD):
Just like food and water, sex is abasic need of all human beings andseafarers are no different. Travelingto different countries make seafarers vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/ AIDS
and venereal diseases like gonor-rhea and syphilis. AIDS is a major
concern because it results into serious consequences on both professional and personal life. In recent
days, seafarers do not fit the stereo
type of having a woman in every
port, but owing to long term isolation, lack of leisure and recreation
facility and availability of strong
sex industry in almost every portof call, seafarers are easily susceptible to unsafe sexual activities andmake them a victim of fatal diseases. Creating awareness among seafarers about sexually transmitted
disease can minimize and preventthe risk of transmission; however
only self-discipline and control cancompletely eradicate the disease.
6. Pandemic And Epidemic
Diseases:

Because of their nature of work,seafarers are bound to visit many
ports in different parts of the world
and are thus exposed to various
pandemic and epidemic diseases
such as malaria, cholera, yellow
fever, tuberculosis etc. Seafarers are
vaccinated and medically checkedthoroughly; however they are in
major danger of being exposed tosudden outburst of new diseases inareas they visit. An example can be
the recent outburst of EBOLA inWest African countries.
The best practice for such situations is to use all preventive
measures to contain the spreadof contagious diseases on board.
The master and the crew should
be informed about the diseases
before docking and restriction ofpeople embarking the vessel andshore leaves can be effectively controlled to prevent such illness fromspreading.
7. Hypertension:
Hypertension is mentioned
as one of the major occupation
hazards onboard merchant andoffshore fleets. Excessive stress,
fatigue, loneliness, smoking,consumption of alcohol, lack ofphysical activity etc. are the maincauses for the same. Hypertension
can also lead to other illnesses likestroke, renal failure etc. Change inlifestyle and food habits, quitting
smoking and alcohol, engaging
in physical activities such as exercises, swimming, yoga etc. canreduce hypertension to a greatextent.

Given the demanding natureof the work at sea, possibilities ofcompletely eradicating these diseases and disorders is nearly impossible. One should realize thatthese diseases are the outcome of
the work seafarers are involved in.
In many cases in the past, seafarers have been denied compensation for disabilities and death,even though most of the above
mentioned diseases are listed by
ILO as occupational hazard. It’s
therefore important that seafarers
are provided with all the supportin times of such unfortunate situations or events, which has occurred
while he or she has been carryingout day to day responsibilities.
(Source: Marine Safety, by DilapanThomas)