Thirty-four people involved in training programs for non-Japanese died in fiscal 2008, up 13 from the previous year and marking a record high, according to a survey by a government-linked training body.
The leading causes of death were brain and heart disease, which claimed 16 lives, while five trainees were killed in work-related accidents and four died in traffic accidents. Supporters of foreign trainees said they suspect many of the deaths blamed on brain and heart disorders were actually the result of overwork.
The Japan International Training Cooperation Organization, which conducted the survey, said the 34 who died were mostly in their 20s and 30s and that the ratio of brain and heart disease was roughly double that of Japanese in the same age bracket.