LO
ConstraintPhysical automation2017-06-01
Japan allows only licensed welders to weld boilers and first-class pressure vessels by hand, while exempting welding by automatic machines
Welderoccupation page →
Event date / reported
2017-06-01
Evidence stage
ConstraintFailure, rollback, regulation or cost is suppressing adoption. Can lower an assessment or widen its uncertainty.
Tasks this bears on
Out-of-position, site and repair welding
Vertical and overhead welds in tight spaces, pipework in place, welding on site and repairing existing structures and equipment.
Still human-led✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
Japan. The Industrial Safety and Health Order lists the welding of boilers and first-class pressure vessels as licensed work, excluding welding by automatic welding machines, certain pipe circumferential joints and parts under compressive stress only; the Act says employers may not put anyone but a licence holder on such work, and that no one else may do it. The quoted item reads the same in every version on e-Gov from 1 June 2017; its last amendment is earlier and could not be read there. Boilers and pressure vessels only.
What this means
In Japan, hand welding on pressure equipment is reserved for licensed people, and the law already draws the line at automatic machines.
What it does not yet show
Boilers and pressure vessels in one country; it does not cover structural or pipeline repair work.
What you can check
Open the Industrial Safety and Health Order on e-Gov, go to Article 20, and find 「自動溶接機による溶接」.
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event. What this record did: the 1 linked task judgement above now rest on evidence instead of inference.
Source
e-Gov 法令検索 — 労働安全衛生法施行令(昭和四十七年政令第三百十八号)第二十条第四号、労働安全衛生法第六十一条 · verified 2026-10-15 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-10-15 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.