Fewer Workplace Deaths in Japan in 2023, But More Missed Days Due to Injury

The number of deaths from work-related accidents in 2023 (excluding those caused by COVID-19) was the lowest on record in Japan, decreasing by 19 year-on-year to 755, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. The combined total of fatal/nonfatal injuries resulting in four or more days absence from work was 135,371, an increase of 3,016 from 2022. This was the third consecutive year the figure rose.

Regarding COVID-19 work-related accidents, there were four deaths, down 13 year-on-year, while fatal/nonfatal injuries fell from 122,352 to 33,637.

In the 1990s, there were more than 2,000 annual deaths from work-related accidents, but that figure has now dropped to less than half. In contrast, the combined total of fatal and nonfatal injuries that resulted in four or more days absence from work has been gradually increasing over the past decade, since hitting 105,718 in 2009.

By industry, the highest number of deaths in 2023 was 223 (30% of the total) in construction, followed by 138 in manufacturing and 110 in land freight transportation, including trucking. In the case of fatal and nonfatal injuries resulting in absence from work for four days or more, the manufacturing industry had the highest figure with 27,194.

The most common type of work accident resulting in fatal or nonfatal injury was “falls by slipping, stumbling, etc.,” with 36,058 people affected (27% of the total). This was followed by 22,053 people (16%) who had “injuries caused by reactions to their actions or excessive effort,” such as from trying to lift items that were too heavy, and 20,758 (15%) whose accidents were caused by “falling from trees, buildings, etc.”

According to the MHLW, working people aged 60 and older accounted for 18.7% of the total working population, a rise of nine percentage points over the last 20 years. At 29.3%, an increase of more than 10 percentage points was also seen in the ratio of people in this age group who suffered fatal and nonfatal injuries resulting in four or more days of work absence, due to work-related accidents.

There were 4.02 annual accidents per 1,000 workers aged 60 or over, which was roughly twice as high as for men aged 30 to 34 and around four times as high for women in this age category.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)