AdvertisementSome employers in Japan are offering "tropical escape" programs, where workers with bad seasonal allergies get subsidized trips to regions with lower pollen counts, according to The Washington Post. Such programs are seen as a way to enhance worker productivity in Japan, where hay fever is much more prevalent than in the US. It started in 2022 because its CEO has bad hay fever. In Japan, hay fever is not only a public health concern but also a challenge to the economy. In February, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described hay fever as a "national disease" that negatively impacts productivity.

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Persons: —, Naoki Shigihara, Aisaac, Fumio Kishida, Mitsuhiro, Okano Organizations: Washington Post, Service, The Washington Post, Post, Business, The Japan, country's Ministry of Environment, Centers for Disease Control, Japan Times, Japan's, Chiba Prefecture's International University of Health, Welfare Narita Hospital, Nikkei Locations: Hay, Japan, Okinawa, Hawaii, Guam, Tokyo, Chiba, Nikkei Asia