As more people in Japan are continuing to work to an advanced age, measures to improve work environments in line with structural changes in society are urgently needed.

The number of elderly people working in Japan has risen to 9.14 million -- up by more than 40% over the past 10 years. Statistically, one in every four people in Japan aged 65 or older is working. Restricted to those between the ages of 65 and 69, the proportion increases to one in two. The employment rate of the elderly here is the highest out of all the G7 countries.

Life expectancy has increased, and people's golden years have grown longer. While some people aim to continue to be active throughout their lives and maintain connections with society through work, other older workers are seeking income due to concerns over their livelihoods.

Companies, too, have had to rely on workers of advanced age due to the nation's population decline, which has left the workforce shorthanded. There are cases where workers are assigned to places they are not familiar with, such as those requiring hard physical labor.

As a result, work-related accidents among the elderly are becoming serious. Last year, the number of accidents and illnesses that were recognized as being job-related rose to a 20-year high of some 135,000. Of these, about 40,000 workers were aged 60 or over.

Standing out were falls and tumbles, which pose a higher risk in people's older years due to muscle weakness and preexisting medical conditions. The rate of cases in which women aged 60 or older fall and fracture bones during work is about 15 times higher than those reported among women in their 20s. Many of these accidents occur in the construction and nursing care fields, among others.

In 2020, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare formulated guidelines for business operators urging them to strengthen safety measures for older workers. Examples include eliminating steps, adding handrails and efforts to improve the physical fitness of employees. A subsidy system was also set up.

Other guidelines for reducing accidents included day-to-day efforts such as not leaving floors wet and keeping rooms well lit, but awareness has not increased. Only somewhere in the 10%-20% range of companies have conformed to the guidelines, far short of the targeted 50%.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is, accordingly, considering a law that would obligate companies to improve work environments to ensure the safety of elderly workers. Some have called for a mechanism to make it easier for older workers to receive workplace accident certification, considering the difference in strength between them and younger members of the working-age population.

The government has made legal amendments to extend the retirement age and back the reemployment of elderly workers, and companies are now obligated to make efforts to enable employees to work until the age of 70 if they desire. This is partly because the government wants healthy elderly workers to help support the social security system.

However, without an environment accommodating the characteristics of individuals, elderly people will not be able to work with peace of mind. Measures to strengthen efforts through public and private collaboration are urgently needed.