At the end of the nineteenth century, the notion of public health, mainly imported from Germany, had alerted the Japanese government to the threat of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. It was not before the 1920s that silicosis, as a chronic disease, became a call for concern for industrial hygienists and social reformers. It was then officially recognized as an occupational disease in 1930. As a consequence of the development of the labor movement, the rationalization of the mining industry, and the adhesion of Japan to the ILO in 1919, silicosis became an inevitable aspect of discussions on law and order, in connection with the capacity of the firms to directly manage their workforce and the position of Japan in the post-Great War international order. After the Second World War, the new labor laws recognized silicosis as an occupational disease, but stated that after three years, the medical costs and sick leave allowances would be replaced by a lump sum. A law on silicosis, voted in 1955 after a campaign from the labor unions, extended those allowances by two years. In 1960, a law on pneumoconiosis was adopted. This took care of forms of pneumoconiosis other than silicosis and replaced the lump sum payment with a system of lifelong allowance.