Vietnamese workers face the highest rate of workplace accidents in Japan, with a record surge in injuries and fatalities. In 2024, over 6,000 foreign workers were injured or killed in workplace accidents, with Vietnamese nationals accounting for nearly 1,600 cases. This is the highest number ever recorded, and fatalities rose to a record 39 deaths. Insufficient safety training and communication gaps are believed to be the main causes of this upward trend. Vietnamese workers accounted for the majority of accidents, with 1,594 cases, followed by workers from the Philippines (878), Indonesia (757), and Brazil (673). The manufacturing industry saw the highest concentration of incidents, with 2,979 cases, followed by the construction sector with 1,165 cases. The most common types of accidents involved workers being caught in or pulled into machinery (1,441 cases) and falls (797 instances). The volume of workplace accidents involving foreign workers has increased every year since 2019, and the accident rate per 1,000 workers is higher for foreign staff (2.71) compared to the general rate (2.35). Technical trainees face an especially high risk with an accident rate of 3.98 per 1,000 workers, while specified skilled workers recorded a similarly high rate of 3.91. Yoshihisa Saito, an associate professor at Kobe University, noted that foreign workers face greater risks because technical trainees and specified skilled workers often perform jobs considered dangerous. He told The Mainichi that they are being hired with limited Japanese proficiency, and many may not even be capable of filing for workers' compensation without help. The Japanese government aims to reduce the foreign worker accident rate to below the national average and ensure that at least half of all companies provide occupational safety training programs by 2027. The rise in accidents correlates with a steady increase in foreign labor due to Japan's aging population and shortages. As of October 2024, there were a record 2.3 million foreign workers in Japan, with Vietnam representing the largest demographic with approximately 570,000 workers, or 24.8% of the total, followed by China with 400,000 and the Philippines with 240,000. Significant year-on-year increases were also recorded from Myanmar, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
