Drafting Your Stress Check Internal Regulations (Japan) — A Clause-by-Clause Template
Introduction
"We've been told to write internal regulations for the stress check, but nobody knows what belongs in them." For HR teams at foreign companies operating in Japan — often running the stress check for the first time as they cross the 50-employee threshold — this is one of the most common stumbling blocks.
Japanese occupational health law does not hand you a fill-in-the-blank form. Instead, the stress check guideline requires the employer to deliberate the implementation method in advance, decide it, and put it in writing. In practice, that written decision becomes the internal regulations (実施規程, jisshi kitei): the document that governs how your stress check actually runs, who does what, and how sensitive results are protected.
This guide explains what the regulations must contain and why, then walks through a clause-by-clause template you can adapt. It is written for HR practitioners drafting the document from scratch. For the wider annual reporting rhythm at the committee, we treat that separately below.
1. Why the Regulations Exist
The legal basis
The stress check system sits under Article 66-10 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act (労働安全衛生法) and its accompanying guideline. Before running a stress check, the employer must deliberate the following in the Health Committee (衛生委員会) or an equivalent body, decide them, and document the outcome:
- The implementation method (survey form, delivery method, who administers it)
- The timing and frequency
- How high-stress employees are identified and how interview guidance is offered
- How group analysis is conducted and used
- How personal information is handled
Your internal regulations are the durable form of that documented decision. They are not filed with an authority, but a labor inspector or an incoming industrial physician may ask to see them, so having a clean, current document is part of being audit-ready.
The practical payoff
Beyond compliance, well-drafted regulations do real operational work:
- Continuity — the annual method stays consistent even when the responsible administrator changes.
- Consistent employee communication — you can say, simply, "we run this according to our regulations," and point to a single source.
- Easier reviews — when the industrial physician changes or an inspection occurs, the confirmation is fast because the rules are written down.
A stress check without written rules tends to be reinvented every year, which is exactly where privacy mistakes and inconsistent messaging creep in.
2. Deliberating the Draft in the Health Committee
The regulations are not something HR decides alone. The draft — usually prepared by HR or general affairs as a "stress check implementation plan" — must be deliberated and adopted by the Health Committee before the first run, and re-deliberated whenever it changes.
For workplaces running an annual cycle, table the plan roughly two to three months before implementation so there is time to adjust and to secure the industrial physician's input. A useful set of decision points to bring to the committee:
| Item | Example of what to propose |
|---|---|
| Timing | One month each year, e.g. October 1–31 |
| Survey form | Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (57-item version) |
| Roles | Implementer: Dr. [name] (industrial physician); administration: HR |
| Delivery | Web-based system; login details issued by HR |
| High-stress criteria | Standard score-conversion thresholds |
| Interview requests | Apply to the physician within one month of receiving results |
| Group analysis | By department / job type, groups of ten or more |
The committee's deliberation is recorded in the minutes and retained for three years (Article 23 of the Industrial Safety and Health Regulations). The ongoing reporting of group analysis results to the committee — the annual cadence, the report format, the minutes — is a distinct topic covered in Putting Stress Check Group Analysis on the Health Committee Agenda. Here, the committee's job is narrower: to adopt the regulations themselves.
3. The Clause-by-Clause Template
Below is a standard structure for a stress check implementation regulation. Treat the clause text as a starting point and adapt names, dates, and methods to your organization. The commentary after each clause explains what it protects.
Article 1 — Purpose
These regulations set out matters concerning the implementation of the examination for gauging the degree of psychological burden (the "stress check"), conducted under Article 66-10 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act.
Anchor the document to the statutory basis so its scope is unambiguous.
Article 2 — Implementation structure
The stress check shall be implemented under the following structure: 1. Implementer: [industrial physician name] (qualification: physician) 2. Administrative staff: Human Resources Department 3. Co-implementer (where outsourced): [provider name]
Name the implementer specifically — the role belongs to a qualified health professional, not an HR administrator. If you outsource, name the provider. The administrative staff handle logistics but must not access individual results beyond what their operational role strictly requires.
Article 3 — Timing and frequency
The stress check shall be conducted once per year, in [month].
State a fixed rhythm so the program is predictable and can be planned against.
Article 4 — Survey form
The Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (57-item version) shall be used.
Specify the instrument. If you offer a longer form or a multilingual version, say so here (see the note on foreign-language support below).
Article 5 — Delivery method
The stress check shall be completed via a web-based system. The URL and login credentials required to respond shall be issued to each respondent by the administrative staff.
Describe how employees actually take the check, including how credentials are distributed.
Article 6 — Voluntary participation
Taking the stress check is voluntary. No disadvantageous treatment shall be imposed on any employee for declining to take it.
A cornerstone clause. Participation cannot be coerced, and non-participation cannot be penalized.
Article 7 — Notification of results
Results shall be communicated directly to the individual respondent. The employer shall not obtain any individual's result without that individual's consent.
This is the heart of the privacy design: results flow to the person, not the company.
Article 8 — Identifying high-stress employees and interview guidance
- The implementer shall identify high-stress employees from the results and notify those eligible for interview guidance.
- An employee wishing to receive interview guidance shall apply to Human Resources within one month of receiving their results.
- Interview guidance shall be provided by the industrial physician to those who apply.
Set out the selection, the application window, and who delivers the guidance.
Article 9 — Providing information to the employer
Only where the individual consents shall the implementer provide that individual's result to the employer. Consent shall be obtained in writing or by electronic means.
Make the consent mechanism explicit. Vague consent is the most common weak point in real-world regulations.
Article 10 — Group analysis
The implementer shall aggregate and analyze results for groups of ten or more, and provide the analysis to the employer. The employer shall use the results to improve the working environment.
Group analysis is aggregated, never individual. The ten-person floor is what keeps individuals unidentifiable.
Article 11 — Protection of personal information
- Results belong to the individual respondent, and the employer shall not use them for any purpose other than as intended by the system.
- Results shall be retained for five years from completion, and thereafter disposed of appropriately.
- Administrative staff shall manage results within a security-controlled system so that unrelated persons cannot access them.
Cover ownership, the five-year retention period, and access control in one place.
Article 12 — Prohibition of disadvantageous treatment
- No disadvantageous treatment shall be imposed on the basis of whether an employee took the check, their results, or whether they applied for interview guidance.
- Any post-guidance workplace measures shall be limited to the minimum necessary and based on medical judgment.
Reinforces Article 6 and extends the protection to results and interview guidance.
Article 13 — Amendment
Amendment or repeal of these regulations shall be made following deliberation by the Health Committee.
Locks changes to the committee process so the document cannot drift informally.
Supplementary provision: These regulations take effect on [date].
4. Drafting Notes That Prevent Later Problems
Name the implementer concretely. Write "the industrial physician, Dr. [name] (physician)" rather than "a physician." Where you outsource, name the provider. Ambiguity here is exactly what an inspection questions.
Specify how consent is obtained. "Consent to provide results to the employer" needs a concrete mechanism: a signed form, a consent button in the system, or an email reply. Decide one and write it.
State foreign-language support if you have a multinational workforce. If you offer the survey in additional languages, record it — for example, "responses may be submitted in [language] and [language]." This matters especially for foreign companies with mixed-language teams. (Language coverage of any specific tool is a roadmap matter; confirm current availability with your provider rather than assuming it.)
Get the retention periods right. Stress check results are retained for five years (Article 52-13 of the regulations); committee minutes for three years (Article 23). State the period and the storage method so the document matches reality.
5. After the Regulations Are Adopted
Communicating to employees
Once adopted, brief all employees on the essentials:
- The purpose and timing of the stress check
- That individual results are not disclosed to the company
- That declining carries no penalty
- How interview guidance works if they are identified as high-stress
Distribute through the channels you already use — all-hands email, intranet, and the onboarding materials new hires receive.
The annual review checkpoint
When the setup changes — a new industrial physician, a new provider, a different survey form — revise the regulations promptly and re-deliberate in the committee. Build a once-a-year review checkpoint into the implementation schedule. The most common inspection finding is not a missing document; it is a document that no longer matches how the stress check is actually run.
Summary
| Item | Key point |
|---|---|
| Committee deliberation | Table the plan 2–3 months ahead; minutes retained three years |
| Mandatory clauses | Structure, timing, survey form, high-stress handling, personal-information protection, prohibition of disadvantageous treatment |
| Name the implementer | State name and qualification (and provider, if outsourced) |
| Retention | Five years for results (Art. 52-13); three years for minutes (Art. 23) |
| Review | On any change to the setup, and once a year as a standing checkpoint |
Internal regulations are not a "write it once and file it" exercise. Their value lies in staying aligned with actual operation: when the written rules and the real method diverge, that gap is precisely what gets flagged in a labor inspection. For the broader picture of running the program end to end, see Japan Stress Check: The Complete Employer's Guide, and for how the results are read once collected, Stress Check Group Analysis in Japan — How to Read It.
COCKPITOS supports regulation drafting with implementation-plan templates, materials for the Health Committee, and setup guidance from a representative who holds both the implementer qualification (certified mental health social worker) and the labor and social security attorney credential. To discuss your setup, get in touch.