TOKYO (Bernama-Kyodo): The share of Japan's population aged 65 or older reached a record 29.4 per cent, the highest among nations with populations of over 40 million, the government estimated Sunday, Kyodo News reported.
Of the 36.19 million elderly in the rapidly ageing country, those with jobs rose for the 21st straight year to a record 9.3 million, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said, as it marks Respect for the Aged Day on Monday.
The ratio means one in seven workers in Japan is elderly. The industrial safety and health law, revised in May, requires companies to enhance working conditions for senior employees, as the risk of work-related injuries increases with age.
While Japan's population aged 65 or older totalled 15.68 million men and 20.51 million women, the combined figure was 50,000 fewer than the previous year, the ministry said.
The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research projects Japan's senior population will climb to 39.28 million in 2040, or 34.8 per cent of the total, underscoring demographic pressures as the 1971-74 second baby boom generation enters old age.
Among countries with populations of 40 million or more, Italy trails Japan with 25.1 per cent aged 65 or older, followed by Germany at 23.7 per cent.
Japan showed a particularly high rate of people aged 75 or older at 17.2 per cent, compared with other nations with large senior populations, according to the government.
The ministry also said most elderly workers in 2024 were part-time or contract employees, with many employed in wholesale and retail businesses. - Bernama-Kyodo
