A study by Keio University and other institutions has found a correlation between the length of parliamentary committee deliberations and higher medical expenses among national government employees working in 10 ministries and agencies in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district.

As concerns grow over the long hours civil servants spend responding to parliamentary inquiries, the findings highlight the importance of appropriate health management for government workers. The paper was recently published in an international occupational health journal.

A research team led by Koryu Sato, a lecturer at Keio University, examined statistical data from medical claims submitted when national government employees visited healthcare providers.

The researchers used the annual deliberation hours of standing committees in both chambers of parliament related to each ministry’s policy areas as an indicator of workload.

The study covered a period from 2016 through 2023 and about 250,000 employees between the ages of 18 and 50 who…