The number of industrial accident compensation claims for mental disorders has been increasing each year, reaching a record high of 1,820 in fiscal year 2018 (88 more than in the previous fiscal year). The number of industrial accident compensation claims for "non-suicide mental disorders" increased from 1,511 in fiscal year 2017 to 1,620 in fiscal year 2018, and such claims are expected to continue to increase rapidly in the future. Regarding social insurance benefits for mental disorders, they are officially recognized as eligible for compensation within 18 months at the latest after the initial medical examination of the injury or illness. However, in the case of social insurance benefits for industrial accidents, the relevant injury or illness is, as a general rule, not officially recognized as eligible for compensation unless it has not stabilized (i. e., been healed). The long-term medical treatment of mental disorders after gaining approval for industrial accident compensation is becoming a major social issue. The author investigated the current situation of long-term medical treatment for cases of mental disorders after approval of industrial accident compensation (Industrial Accidents and Diseases Clinical Research Project) between fiscal year 2014 and 2017. In the combined surveys in fiscal years 2016 and 2017, 62.2% of those receiving medical treatment did not return to work in less than five years (74). Among those who received care for 5-10 years, 81.8% (54) did not return to work; in the case of those who received care for 10 years or longer, 91.5% (184) never returned to work. This revealed that longer treatment periods resulted in a higher number of people not returning to work. In the survey conducted in fiscal year 2016, 91% (132) of the cases that had not been cured (145) had a prolonged treatment period of three years or longer. In most cases, the period of medical treatment had become prolonged (P<0.0001^*).
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