About Us
- Purpose/Background
- Officers
Purpose/Background
Recent technological innovations largely revolving around data processing have yielded rapid IT evolution and the widespread presence of VDTs (Visual Display Terminals) in workplaces. Meanwhile, the proliferation of display screens incorporating LEDs has resulted in an increasing number of terminals emitting substantial blue light.
Even average homes maintain a variety of blue light-emitting products such as LCD televisions, video games, and tablet devices, with usage spanning the generations from children to seniors. This is the first time in the history of mankind for the human lifestyle to include long hours spent gazing at artificial light.
The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has issued Guidelines for Industrial Health Controls of VDT Operations governing workplace computer usage, but there has been no discussion from a medical perspective on the effects of blue light emitted by display devices. Hazards include effects on the retina following protracted exposure to blue light, with concerns particularly centering on diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and the effects of extensive nighttime blue light exposure on circadian rhythm.
With these concerns in mind, the Blue Light Society was founded to elucidate the effects of blue light on humans from a medical perspective, as this light is increasingly interrelated with human health. This organization seeks to clarify the effects of blue light on the human body through proactive cross-disciplinary research, with results made widely available to the public.
