According to an estimate by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported by Kyodo News on Wednesday, the number of senior citizens aged 65 or older stood at 36.19 million, down 50,000 from last year. It is the second time since Japan’s population of senior citizens has declined since 1950, following 2023.
On the other hand, the proportion of the elderly in the total population was 29.4 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from a year ago, a new all-time high. Kyodo News explained, “Japan has the highest proportion of the elderly population among countries with more than 40 million people.”
The percentage of senior citizens in Japan was 25.7 percent last year, up 0.5 percentage point from the previous year. The number of senior citizens employed stood at 9.3 million, marking the 21st consecutive year of increase, marking a new all-time high.
In particular, the proportion of employed people aged 65 to 69 was 53.6%, up 1.6 percentage points from the previous year. The proportion of employed people aged 70 to 74 was 35.1%, and 12.0% were over the age of 75.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications predicted, “The number of elderly people working is expected to increase in the future due to the extension of the old age and the shortage of workers.”
EJ SONG
US ASIA JOURNAL
