Dear Gonca and all
There are no legal age restrictions when driving a tractor inside a farmland.
This is a fact. However, most farmlands are small, and there is no necessity to use the tractor. Cultivators are much more common.
The government's statistical data, Age-based core agricultural worker numbers,shows that the age range between 15 and 19 is 607/1,363,038 (0.04%). Japan's population is 124.5 million. Historically, Japanese farmers'culture has parents working in the field and children working in house chores. So, even boys don't have the opportunity to operate agricultural machinery,and they work in much more supportive parts or house chores. There were 238 fatal farming accidents in 2022. 86% were more than 65 years old. 83 (35%) were related to tractors. I have not found any news or data about child cases these years.
I'm writing an article,"Young carers are in the most common child labour
situation in Japan". Many children care for their family members, especially their siblings and mothers, for over three hours daily.This is the most prominent child labour issue in Japan.
Kind regards,
Hajime
CHIFA Profile: Hajime Takeuchi is a professor at the Bukkyo University in Japan. Professional interests: child health, child poverty, child wellbeing. takechanespid@gmail.com He is a CHIFA Country Representative for Japan and a member of the CHIFA Steering Group (child health and rights) http://www.hifa.org/support/members/hajime takechanespid AT gmail.com