Handbook Promotes Health Management Support for SMEs

As the declining birthrate, aging population, and labor shortages advance, health management, which maintains and improves employees’ health from a management perspective, is becoming important for the sustainable growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Many small and medium-sized enterprises lack human and time resources, cannot obtain information or know-how, and have not made progress in their initiatives.

This handbook introduces the significance of health management and key points for providing support so that organizations assisting small and medium-sized enterprises can use it in awareness-raising activities.

Through the use of this educational material, support organizations are expected to increase their outreach to small and medium-sized enterprises, further promoting the adoption and establishment of health management in local communities.

Section 2, “Overview of This Handbook,” organizes the significance and importance of undertaking health management, its effects, support tools, subsidies, and support organizations as basic knowledge and support methods needed to approach companies and respond to consultations.

Section 3, “Intended Readers of This Handbook,” is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprise support organizations and experts, including local financial institutions, chambers of commerce and industry, chambers of commerce, and related organizations. It can be downloaded from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry website.

Section 4, “Download and Distribution,” states that electronic copies are scheduled to be sent to support organizations nationwide from early September onward. The contact office is the Healthcare Industry Division of the Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group; the representatives are Kawasuso, Komatsu, Morita, and Hashimoto; the telephone number is 03-3501-1511 (extension 4041); and the email address is bzl-healthcare★meti.go.jp.