Consumer accidents related to life and health
Part 1 : Today's consumer issues and consumers' behavior/attitude
Chapter 3 : Trends in consumer issues
Section 2 : Consumer accidents related to life and health
Information on accidents related to life and health is collected by the Consumer Affairs Agency through various channels
- When a serious consumer accident, such as a fatal accident, occurs, it is essential to prevent the spread of damage and the recurrence of identical/similar accidents. The Consumer Safety Act addresses this by relevant administrative organizations and local governments that have been informed of the occurrence of serious accidents to immediately report to the Consumer Affairs Agency. They must also report to the Agency consumer accidents that are not serious but suggest the possibility of the spread of damage and the recurrence of identical/similar consumer accidents.
(Special note) Serious accidents
The Consumer Safety Act requires that the head of an administrative organ who has been informed of the occurrence of those accidents affecting life or health ("life or health-related accidents") that are fatal or otherwise serious ("serious accidents"), immediately report them to the Consumer Affairs Agency. The Consumer Affairs Agency publishes a summary of the reported serious accidents on a weekly basis and shares the information with relevant administrative organizations.
Reports of "life or health-related accidents" under the Consumer Safety Act declined only modestly
- Consumer accidents, etc. reported to the Consumer Affairs Agency in FY 2012 under the Consumer Safety Act included 2,813 "life or health-related accidents," down 2.6% from 2,889 in the previous year. Among them there were 1,322 "serious accident," down 4.9% from 1,390 in the previous year. The breakdown by type of accident shows that "fire" was most common, with 1,038 cases reported (down 4.7% from 1,089 in the previous year), followed by "fall, toppling, instability" with 115 reports (up 55.4% from 74 in the previous year).
PIO-NET registered 14,407 cases of damage and risk
- Consumer affairs consultations registered with PIO-NET in FY 2012 included 14,407 cases involving life or health-related damage and risk. Among these, cases classified as "damage information" were about 1.8 times more than the number in FY 2004.
(Special note) Damage information
Consultations on damage that has affected the life or health of individuals.
(Special note) Risk information
Consultations on incidents that have yet to inflict damage but have the potential to do so.
