Job Discussion Forums

[Dominique]

I know this may seem like a stupid question, but I thought it was worth asking.

Do all companies in Japan require you to get a physical before you work?
I don't have any pre-existing health problem, but I do have a phobia of needles so i'm a bit worried about this! Thanks.

[JimDunlop2]

[Dominique]

My aunt says that if you plan on working with kids then you must get a TB shot.

Thanks for the thread, but I found it geared more towards civil servants not just regular teaching jobs with the big 4.

"The Industrial Safety and Health Law of Japan, states that all new employees require a statement of good health before employment is possible. Please obtain a general �medical� or �physical� note from a doctor. On doctor�s letterhead, it should state that you are fit to teach English in Japan and are free of communicable diseases, in particular TB"

This is what I received.

So I was wondering what did people have to undergo for a general "medical" note?
I figured knowing ahead of time might ease my anxiety about this blood test since I suffer from a vasovagal reflex reaction, fainting because of the needle.

[JimDunlop2]

Hmm.. Never heard of that.... I didn't even think TB was that big of an issue in Japan -- though I'm aware that many other Asian countries are affected by it. It's been on the rise recently, but statistically speaking...... I don't know.

In any event, none of my friends have ever had to get this (that I know of) or at least they have never talked about this. When I worked for a private company, this was also unheard of. If your company is insisting on it, perhaps they are unique in this regard.

I had to provide a statement of good health from my doctor in Canada in order to get my WHV, but all he did was glance at me and remarked that I wasn't about to keel over in the examining room from Ebola or something dire.....

There is a website with an article on TB here:http://www.nsftokyo.org/ssr99-18.html

In terms of "Control" I don't see anything that talks about mandatory immunization for the illness....

Control Program

The current control program in Japan includes the following:

Physical examination: this x-ray examination is coupled with tuberculin testing and is separated into regular and extraordinary classifications.

Preventive vaccination: BCG, also separated into regular and extraordinary classification. Repeated tuberculin tests before BCG inoculation for negative test results were introduced for infants in 1983.

Work: prefectual governors are authorized to issue an order prohibiting infected patients from engaging in work that entails possible contact with a number of people.

Expenses: all or most medical expenses for the patients who are compulsorily hospitalized or prohibited from working are covered by the government (Japan International Cooperation Agency, 1998)

Maybe it's like Japanese encephalitis. Papers talk about it, but your actual chances of getting are next to none. I don't know of anyone who has gotten shots for it....

The Canadian government official travel advisory websites recommends up-to-date routint immunizations... and metnions that... Tuberculosis represents a significant risk at certain destinations... So maybe it's specific to WHERE you live in Japan?

[AgentMulderUK]

I had to prove I didn't have TB before I came here......so I had to pay out for a test.
(obviously the UK is a disease ridden country)

My employer (now ex-employer,thankfully) was Interac.

They claimed it was because I had to work with children.....

Cobblers.

[fromCanada]

Dominique,

AgentMulderUK is right. You just have to show satisfactory evidence that you don't have TB.

In Ontario, teachers have to prove that they are free of TB before they start working at elementary schools. I am thinking of applying to teacher's college eventually and one of the application requirements is proof that the applicant is free of TB.

P.S. I misread your latest message..so had to edit.

[hamel]

the chest x-ray seems to be the standard tb check in korea and is probably also in japan. in the states they use a skin test. good luck.
hamel

[G-money]

Hey Dominique,

I had to get an x-ray done for TB and before my doctor could give me a medical exam note I had to take a blood test. I hate needles too, but I just sucked it up and got it over with.

[chi-chi]

Hi Dominique,
I guess it varies from job to job considering that people are giving different answers. I've worked in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and never had to undergo a mandatory medical test, except in Taiwan where it's the rule.
Of course your job may be different, I don't know.

[Dominique]

The company is ECC.
I talked to a former employee and he didn't have to go through with this. Just my luck
I guess it's because they once hired a narcoleptic (sorry about the spelling) and they didn't find out untill he went in for training, according to the interviewer in Toronto.
I am aware that the TB test is mandatory if you are going to work with children, then what happens if you get a positive test? Doesn't it take a long time to get it out of your system?

JimDunlop2: Where did you go to get your health check? I want to see this doctor I'm currently in the process of finding a good doctor since I just got my health card renewed (it expired in Jan)

[bearcat]

I've had plenty of jobs in Japan. Not once have I had to have a physical prior to or conditional to working for someone. Unless things for ECC have changed very very very very recently, I've never heard of em doing this... especially if hired in country.

[nomadder]

Narcoleptic? Isn't that someone who falls asleep alot? What's that got to do with TB? I thought the TB test is one with a *beep*-not needle exactly and they see if you have a particular reaction- meaning you have it. THo antibiotic resistant strains are on the rise I wasn't aware of any particular risks for Canadians unless you've been living elsewhere for awhile.

[Dominique]

I haven't travelled outside of North America before.