Japan’s elderly population hits record high

The number of people aged 65 or older, and their ratio to the overall population, are both at record highs in Japan, according to a government survey, Report informs referring to NHK World-Japan.

The survey was conducted ahead of the Respect for the Aged Day national holiday on September 20.

The internal affairs ministry estimates that, as of September 15, the elderly population was 36.4 million, up 220,000 from last year.

The ministry says the ratio of elderly people to the overall population was 29.1%, marking a rise of 0.3 percentage points. Japan’s total population fell by 510,000 from last year.

Of the elderly people in Japan, 15.83 million were male, and 20.57 million were female.

The ministry also says the number of elderly workers in Japan rose for 17 consecutive years to reach 9.06 million last year, or 13.6 percent of the total workforce, which is also a record high.