[Occupational injuries among migrant workers in Japan: A scoping review].

Abstract

Objectives　The number of occupational injuries among migrant workers in Japan has increased. This increase corresponds with the increase in the number of migrant workers in Japan, which has more than doubled over the past 10 years, from approximately 720,000 in 2013 to a record high of over two million in 2023. There were 5,672 work-related deaths and injuries in 2023. To prevent occupational injuries, it is necessary to strengthen countermeasures, by considering the specific risks present in each industry. In this study, we conducted a scoping review to identify problems associated with occupational injuries for various industry types and examined preventive measures.Methods　The review targeted literature published from 1990 up to October 2023. Academic databases (CiNii Research, Ichushi Web, and PubMed) were searched, along with "Kakehashi" published by the Japan International Trainee & Skilled Worker Cooperation Organization (JITCO) and the official websites of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and JITCO. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and selected documents that mentioned occupational injuries among migrant workers. Subsequently, they independently reviewed the full text (or the abstract, if the full text was unavailable) to determine eligibility. The studies were categorized as case reports (based on a single-case analysis) or survey reports (based on multiple-case analyses). The industries addressed in the literature were classified according to the Japan Standard Industrial Classification.Results　Two reviewers screened 885 reports and selected 73 for review, including 37 survey reports and 36 case reports. Of the survey reports, three focused on "agriculture and forestry," two on "construction," three on "manufacturing," and one on "transport and postal services," while 28 did not focus on specific industries. The identified issues included insufficient understanding of machinery use and failure to retain operational skills, in the agriculture and forestry sector; inadequate knowledge of basic safety practices on construction sites in the construction sector; and malfunctioning safety devices on press machines, general machine malfunctions, and a lack of safety training in the manufacturing sector. Some efforts to address these problems through targeted measures were observed in the agriculture and forestry and construction sectors. Some industries did not exhibit industry-specific problems.Conclusion　To prevent occupational injuries among migrant workers, it is necessary to collect industry-specific information that is currently lacking.