Every year in Japan, regardless of which company you work for, regardless of which prefecture you reside in, you will eventually come face to face with my most dreaded day of the year. In the UK, your health is generally a very private affair, and it is left up to you if you want to get a check. In Japan, health checking your employees is a mandatory event. I was slightly aware of this custom before coming to Japan, as my dad has worked for Fujitsu in the UK for over 30 years, and every year the company pays for private health checks. I am unsure if the checks are as extensive as they are in Japan, but it was certainly more than what I experienced working for a UK company for a decade, where I never had a health check or even received a company health care plan.
In Japan it is mandatory for companies to conduct health checks on their employees; I will be using my experience on JET and in my new company, which just had health checks as the basis for my writing. Both companies conducted the same tests and from researching this seems to be the standard across Japan.
So, what is involved in the health check? Firstly, depending on your age, the number of tests you do will be different. When I first joined JET, I was under the bracket for the full test; however, when I joined my current company, I was over the bracket. For all, a hearing test, eyesight test and weight check are performed. Depending on the company, a different health service may be used, and slight variations may occur. Whilst on JET, a chest X-ray was performed, but this was conducted at my school before the main tests. Every school in the area was visited on a schedule, and the teachers would then do the main tests a few weeks later or they would be called in to the BOE of the prefecture to complete the rest. Prior to the tests, a urine sample would be collected, and if you hit that bracket in age, a stool sample would also be requested. On the day of the tests, everyone had to fast and not consume any liquids between 10hours – 3 hours prior depending on the bracket they fell into.
Blood pressure would be taken, and an electrocardiogram would also be taken, which was always a jarring one for me as it required you to be topless. The tests would be conducted in the place you worked, and a thin curtain would separate you from the rest of your coworkers. Any sense of shame is quickly tucked away as these tests are performed quickly to keep the long line moving. Everything is set up in little stations to perform all the tests and keep the lines moving to avoid any long waits. Depending on the company, this is often like clockwork or can be very chaotic.
Depending on the company and prefecture again, you may be offered the flu jab; this did not occur on JET, but it cropped up with my current company. Lastly, my least favourite part of the test was the blood test. I am awful with this part and must do it lying down, or it’s lights out for a mandatory nap. But all the times I have done these tests, the option to do so is provided. If you hit that age bracket, a barium test is requested but not enforced to check your stomach for any early signs of cancer or ulcers. Everyone fills out a health survey, which covers everything from family history to lifestyle and even to if you consider yourself healthy for the age you are with such questions like do you believe you walk faster than people your age or eat faster than people your age.
So, what happens once the tests are completed? Aside from feeling lightheaded for the rest of the day when you return to your usual work, you forget about everything for a few months. The time in which results are returned may depend on the size of the company, the health service used and the prefecture. The results are sent in the post or handed out again, depending on the situation. But you receive a grade like on a test for every section. It should be noted that Japan’s criteria are different than in the west and I was considered obese where in the UK I would have fallen into the slightly overweight category. I am awaiting this year’s results with the expectation that I will still be obese even with changes to my lifestyle. If there are any glaring issues, you will be required to do a mandatory hospital follow-up by your company. If you are only a few average grades and mostly A grades, you will get advice slips and a list of services for you to check at your own discretion.
Overall, it’s a very different experience than what I assume most of us in the UK are used to. We are used to our health being a private thing unless we break a leg or fall sick, where we must call in an absence, and even then companies cannot push for much information as it’s sensitive. It’s a very different game in Japan; companies can request information on why you’re calling in ill, and it is often expected that, should you feel ill in the morning and improve, you will come in for the afternoon. In the UK, depending on the company, if you call in sick no evidence is needed until three days of sickness, where a doctor’s note will be required to receive sick pay. In Japan, there is no sick pay, and most companies expect you to use your days off to cover any sickness. Also, even after 1 day of sickness on JET in my prefecture, a doctor’s receipt was needed for a day, and if you were ill for more than three days, a doctor’s note was then needed.
Whilst I despise needles and felt low when I received the obese verdict after the tests, I was a little thankful to know my results every year. In the UK, unless I felt ill, I would often not see a doctor for long periods of time. The benefit of having a yearly check is that at least once a year you can check in with your health and address any issues early. Despite my loathing of needles, I still want to request that my doctor do the test to find out my blood type. In Japan, it is offered for about 1000 yen, as every Japanese person knows this information from birth, whilst in the UK, ask anyone and most will tell you they haven’t the foggiest. But I side with Japan on this; I feel everyone should know this information in case of an emergency. Unless you're pregnant or donating blood often, in the UK it’s information that just isn’t publicly available.
All in all, the differences between the UK and Japan are very interesting when it comes to health. Living abroad for even a short time will broaden your awareness of things you often take for granted, and regardless of the situation, you will find a new appreciation for either the country you’re living in or the one you moved away from. It’s why I believe people should, even for a year, experience life in a different country just to learn more about themselves or the things in their home country that they appreciate or gain a new perspective on.
