The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that the latest figure for work-related deaths was down by 85 compared to the previous year, reports the Asahi Shimbun (May 18).
Breaking down the latest figure by industry, there were 327 deaths in construction, 160 in manufacturing and 125 in land transport.
Work-related deaths dipped below 1,000 for the first time since statistics started being kept in 1948.
The record for work-related deaths stands at 6,712 in 1961.
