●Number of Japanese residents in Thailand (2023: Ministry of Foreign Affairs statistics)

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan's Survey of the Number of Japanese Residents Overseas, the number of Japanese nationals residing in Thailand was 72,308 (October 2023), a decrease of 10,266 compared to 82,574 (October 2021).

In 2017, the number of Japanese people by occupation was media (138 people), government employees (369 people), free workers (892 people), study abroad, research, and teachers (584 people), and employees of private companies ((= work permit/certificate recipients (20,252 people)), but the data after that could not be confirmed.

February 2022 issue "Local Information in Thailand" https://www.f-abc.org/news/101/, written in Japanese.

●An estimated actual number of Japanese residents in Thailand (2023: when the number of work permits and recipients is taken into account)

i) As of 2023, the number of people receiving work permits and recipients (employees of private companies) is 34,300 Chinese, and 24,230 are Japanese.

ii) The number of Japanese nationals receiving work permits decreased from 35,136 in 2014 to 10,906 in 2023.

iii) Based on data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of family members accompanying work permit holders is 0.6, so the total number of Japanese nationals involved in private companies is about 38,768. Even adding the number of permanent residents (2,414 in 2023) to this, the estimated number is 41,182, so the actual number of Japanese residing in Thailand is about 42,000 ~ 45,000 at most.

 Number of Work Permit Holders in Thailand:2023 by Country

Following the explosion and fire incident at a Taiwanese chemical manufacturer in 2021, which was a "direct cause" of the mandatory preparation of Thai language SDSs, another unfortunate incident occurred in Thailand. 

On Thursday 9 May 2024, an explosion and fire occurred at the SCG Chemicals Plc (SCGC) terminal in Map Ta Phut, Rayong Province, Thailand, at around 10.30 am. The explosion appears to have occurred in a pyrolysis gasoline tank. One person was killed and four others, including a firefighter, were injured [1]. 

The cause of the explosion and subsequent fire remains under investigation, while authorities from the Rayong Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, the Pollution Control Department, and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) have launched a thorough investigation into the incident. 

The IEAT (under the Ministry of Industry), which manages the area, has issued an order to partially suspend operations at the plant.

 タイ語SDS作成義務化の「直接の要因」となった台湾系化学メーカーの爆発火災事故（2021年）に引き続き、不幸な事故がタイで再発しました。

2024年5月9日(木)、10時半頃、タイ国ラヨン県マプタプットのSCG Chemicals Plc (SCGC) terminalで爆発火災が発生しました。爆発は熱分解ガソリンタンクで発生したようです。この事故で1名死亡、消防士を含む4名が負傷しました [1]。

事故要因はラヨーン県災害予防緩和局、公害管理局、タイ工業団地公社（IEAT：Industrial Authority of Thailand）の当局が事件の徹底的な調査に乗り出すなか、爆発とその後の火災の原因は依然として調査中です。

この区域を管理するIEAT（工業省傘下）は施設の一部業務停止命令を発出しました。

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyRADxo_JpA

以上

 タイにおける現地情報（2023年度、調査委託業務）は、福岡アジアビジネスセンター様のウェブサイト（下表）からダウンロードできます。