TOKYO, Feb. 14 — In Japan, 312 farm workers died of work-related injuries in 2016, about 70 percent of which involved machinery, including farm vehicles, according to the agriculture ministry.
Farming is among the most dangerous occupations in Japan, with a fatality rate of 16.2 per 100,000 farmers — exceeding hazardous jobs such as those in the construction sector with a death-rate of 6 per 100,000 workers.
Moreover, 81 percent of fatalities in the farm sector were people aged over 65, with a fatality rate of 20.3 per 100,000 farmers.
“Those who are aged 65 and over are to normally retired in other sectors, but in the farm sector they are still at the forefront,” an official from the agriculture ministry said.
“The fatality rate is so high in this sector that we need to act for the safety of those aged farmers,” the official added.