Japan’s elderly population hits record high

Japan's elderly population has reached an all-time high of 36.25 million people, with 29.3 per cent of the country's total population aged 65 or older, according to data released on Sunday by the country's ministry of internal affairs and communications.

The report shows that approximately 20.53 million females aged 65 or older, representing 32.3 per cent of the country's total female population. On the other hand, the number of senior citizen men is comparatevely lower, with around 15.72 million, accounting for 26.1 per cent of the male population.

Among the 200 countries and regions with populations exceeding 100,000, Japan ranks first in terms of the proportion of elderly residents. Several European nations, including Italy, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Germany, and Croatia, also made it to the top 10, with rates surpassing 20 per cent. In comparison, South Korea's elderly population stands at 19.3 percent, while China's is at 14.7 percent.

Japan is grappling with a severe population crisis as the growing elderly population leads to escalating medical and welfare costs, while the shrinking labour force struggles to support these expenses. The country's overall population has decreased by 595,000, reaching 124 million, as per previous government data.

The data released on Sunday also revealed that a record 9.14 million elderly people were employed in 2023, accounting for 13.5 percent of the total workforce, or one in seven employees. Despite the Japanese government's efforts to mitigate the decline and aging of its population, no significant progress has been made thus far.