A Third of Serious Workplace Injuries in Japan Involve Workers Over 60
The number of serious work-related injuries in Japan has climbed over the past decade. Workers over 60 now account for a greater percentage of this total.
A Decrease in Deaths
The number of deaths from work-related accidents in 2025 was the lowest on record in Japan, decreasing by 46 year on year to 700, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.
The combined total of deaths and injuries resulting in four or more days absence from work (excluding those caused by COVID-19) was 135,333 (down 385). This figure has exceeded 130,000 for five consecutive years. Among workers aged 60 and over, the total was 42,318, which is a record high, and the percentage of accidents involving these workers continued to climb, reaching 31.3% in 2025.
Major Decrease in Fatalities
In the 1990s, there were more than 2,000 annual deaths from work-related accidents, but that figure has now dropped to around a third of the figures seen in that era. In contrast, the combined total of deaths and injuries that resulted in four or more days absence from work has been gradually increasing over the past decade, since hitting a low of 105,718 in 2009.
By industry, the highest number of deaths in 2025 was 214 (31% of the total) in construction, followed by 115 in manufacturing and 80 in land freight transportation, including trucking. For deaths and injuries combined, the manufacturing industry had the highest figure, with 26,371.
In 2023, there were 4.02 annual accidents per 1,000 workers (both men and women) aged 60 or over, which was roughly twice the figure for men aged 30 to 34 and around four times as high for women in this age category.
Data Sources
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)