Occupational asthma in Japan

Research into occupational asthma (OA) in Japan has been led by the Japanese Society of Occupational and Environmental Allergy. The first report about allergic OA identified konjac asthma. After that, many kinds of OA have been reported. Cases of some types of OA, such as konjac asthma and sea squirt asthma, have been dramatically reduced by the efforts of medical personnel. Recently, with the development of new technologies, chemical antigen-induced asthma has increased in Japan. Due to advances in anti-asthma medication, control by medical treatment tends to be emphasized and the search for causative antigens seems to be neglected. Furthermore, we do not have a Japanese guideline for diagnosis and management of OA. This article discusses the current state of OA in Japan.