Kenji Urada

1 documented case

1981

A Kawasaki FS03n industrial robot arm, part of Kawasaki Heavy Industries' product line of the type involved in the 1981 incident.

A Kawasaki robot arm crushed Kenji Urada in 1981, and the world only heard about it five months later

A malfunctioning industrial robot at Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Akashi plant in Japan crushed 37-year-old maintenance worker Kenji Urada against a gear-processing machine on 4 July 1981, a death labour officials did not disclose publicly until that December.

KBR-19810704-INC-S01
Severity needle showing Severe
Severe74
Kenji Urada, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Hyogo Labour Standards Bureau, Japan Ministry of Labour

Severity distribution

Severity distribution for Kenji Urada. 1 documented case across five severity bands, cool (Minor) to warm (Critical).
Minor0
Moderate0
Elevated0
Critical0
Incidents by severity band for Kenji Urada
Severity bandIncidents
Minor0
Moderate0
Elevated0
Severe1
Critical0

Read how severity is scored →