Japanese companies offering ‘tropical escape’ trips to workers with hay fever

Companies in Japan are offering their allergy-prone employees a subsidised “tropical escape” to regions with lower pollen counts.

In Japan, where hay fever is a significant issue affecting employee productivity, some companies are implementing innovative solutions to alleviate symptoms and enhance worker efficiency, The Washington Post reported.

An IT company, Aisaac, provided financial support for employees suffering from hay fever to temporarily relocate to areas with milder symptoms, such as Okinawa, the report said.

Naoki Shigihara, an employee of the company was quoted as saying: “I definitely felt the symptoms going away, and the fact of just being in Okinawa was great.” Shigihara is a 20-year-old engineer who has used the company’s policies by relocating to the tropical southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

The initiative is reportedly aimed to combat the impact of hay fever on work performance, with some employees reporting increased focus and productivity during their remote work trips.

In a study conducted in 2020 involving Japanese hay fever sufferers, approximately 80 per cent reported that their symptoms significantly reduced their productivity.

Similar programmes are emerging in other companies, with around 20 per cent of workplaces now allowing remote work during hay fever season and some covering the associated costs, according to a survey by Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry.

The hay fever season in Japan, reaching its peak from late February to mid-April, isn’t merely an inconvenience for individuals grappling with allergies, sneezing, and itching throughout spring. It constitutes a significant public health concern, imposing a considerable economic burden on Japan as millions of workers annually succumb to hay fever-related illnesses during this period.

Hay fever prevalence is notably higher in Japan compared to the US, attributed in part to reforestation policies post-World War II.

Prime minister Fumio Kishida last year acknowledged hay fever as a “national disease” affecting productivity as well. He said it had “a huge impact on productivity”.

The government is now making efforts to mitigate hay fever by cutting down cedar trees, increasing production of anti-allergy medications and replacing cedar trees with other trees that produce less pollen.

Mr Kishida was quoted as saying by The Japan Times last year in October: “We will aim to resolve hay fever, which is a social issue, andrevitalise local communities through the promotion of forestry.”

Mr Kishida’s initiative include policies to stimulate demand for cedar products in construction, increase the use of foreign workers in forestry, and subsidise the acquisition of advanced logging machinery.

The government’s long-term goal is to halve the nation’s pollen count within 30 years by expanding cedar tree logging.

Last year, pollen levels in Tokyo surged to their highest in almost a decade.

According to a Guardian report, roughly 40 per cent of the Japanese population reportedly suffers from hay fever symptoms, such as itchy, watery eyes, and sneezing, triggered by the widespread shedding of pollen from the country’s abundant cedar and cypress trees at the beginning of the year.

The Japan Times reported that last year, Intage, a marketing research and analysis firm, revealed that sales of treatments like anti-inflammatory nasal sprays surged by over 100 per cent in the week starting from 27 February. Similarly, sales of anti-allergy eyedrops witnessed an increase of 233 per cent.

This year, pollen allergy season started a little earlier than usual in Japan, according to Mainichi, due to the warm winter.

Iwao Yamashita, chairperson of Yamashita Medical & Dental Clinics, which operates two clinics in Tokyo, was quoted as saying by the outlet that he began to see patients complaining of hay fever symptoms in early January this year. “I thought it was a cold considering the time of year, but it turned out to be pollen allergies. My impression is that it is a few weeks earlier than usual.”