Reprinted with permission by Junji Nishihata of Japan Times
June 22,2001
Bills give physically impaired wider work freedom
Government improves employment prospects in areas including medicine,
dentistry and nursing
The House of Representatives passed bills Friday to amend 27 laws
that ban the blind and deaf from working as doctors, dentists, nurses
and pharmacists.
The bills, which have already cleared the House of Councilors,
stipulate, however, that the government may deny the issuance of
professional licenses to "people who will have difficulty carrying
out tasks due to a physical or mental disorder."
The idea is to allow room for applicants to receive the licenses on a
case-by-case basis. The old laws state the government will not grant
professional licenses to people who are blind, deaf or mentally
impaired.
The health ministry will define the specific types and levels of
disorders in its ordinances to back up the laws.
Blindness, deafness and mental disorders will be considered
conditions of restriction for applicants seeking licenses to work as
doctors, dentists and nurses. Blindness and mental disorders will be
restrictive conditions for pharmacists and clinical laboratory
technicians.
For physical therapists, only a mental disorder will be considered a
restrictive condition.
Color-vision tests to go
The labor ministry plans to abolish the color-vision tests that
employers must conduct as part of their pre-employment medical checks
under the Industrial Safety and Health Law, ministry officials said
Friday.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry wants to abolish the tests as
colorblindness rarely affects work performance and some employers
rule out applicants without giving specific reasons.
The ministry will instruct employers who wish to exclude colorblind
applicants to elaborate on their reasons.
In addition, their explanations will be written under the job
description section rather than the physical condition section of
application forms, the officials said. The style of application forms
will also be changed.
A ministry panel has said that gene-related data, such as information
on infectious diseases, and color-vision tests invite
misunderstanding and prejudice, which could lead to social
discrimination.
Similar tests at schools conducted on students have been gradually
reduced since fiscal 1995.
The ministry will advise employers not to make color-vision tests
mandatory unless it is necessary for the job, such as with pilots.