By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-10-19 06:56:21 | Updated at 2026-10-19 07:47:29
52 minutes ago
TOKYO – Despite an April revision to the Industrial Safety and Health Law requiring companies in Japan to make efforts to prevent accidents among older staff, workers aged 60 and older still account for over 30% of all workplace injuries and fatalities, as their demographic in the workforce continues to grow.
More than six months have passed since the revision took effect, but some relevant measures have yet to be fully implemented due to administrative and financial burdens on companies.
At the domestic terminal of Fukuoka Airport, where expansion and renovation work is currently underway, Mitsuo Fujimoto, a 77-year-old plasterer, could be seen smoothing concrete with a trowel in late July, with a red sticker indicating “60 or older” affixed to his helmet.
Elderly workers account for more than 10% of the total headcount at this construction site, which involves about 25 companies and 500 workers.
Taisei, a major construction company based in Tokyo that serves as the prime contractor for this project, has introduced the stickers in the project.
To prevent workers from falling, dark areas have been lit up with proper lighting, and black-and-yellow warning tape is used to alert workers to any slight unevenness.
Fujimoto expressed his gratitude for these efforts, saying, “People around me often speak to me to check (if I’m okay).”
Since construction began in spring 2025, no major work-related accidents have been reported onsite. Moreover, the project has been proceeding about one month ahead of schedule.
Increasing elderly workers
The extension of the retirement age is a partial factor in the increase in senior worker numbers.
According to a labour force survey by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, elderly workers totalled 12.13 million in 2025, more than twofold from 2005.
Work-related accidents have also increased.
In 2025, the number of fatalities and injuries resulting in at least four days of absence from work due to work-related accidents was 42,318 among workers aged 60 or older, representing 31.3% of all incidents.
The figure more than doubled over the last 20 years. The incidence rate of work-related accidents, such as falls, was about twice as high for elderly men and about five times as high for elderly women compared to workers in their 30s.
There was a correlation between the age of the workers and the length of their leave, with about 60% of workers in their 60s absent from work for one month or longer.
The Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry released guidelines in 2020 to prevent work-related accidents among the elderly.
The ministry also launched a subsidy programme under which small and midsize companies receive up to 1 million yen (S$8,100), encouraging firms to take preventive measures in the workplace to avoid any incidents.
Examples of these measures include conducting workplace safety assessments by experts and adopting equipment and materials to reduce the physical burden on workers. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
