Ramit Mehrotra, Pune
Japan’s elderly population breaches the 36 million mark, making senior citizens aged 65 and over, contribute to one-third of Japanese, according to Japanese government data. The country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication revealed that the elderly comprise 29.3% of the population.
At least 21 million Japanese people aged 65 and above are women and men are 16 million. This puts Japan at the top of 200 countries and regions that fall under the population cap of 100,000. Italy, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Germany, and Croatia, were the erstwhile toppers on the list, with rates of over 20%.
The information too uncovered that a whopping 9.14 million elderly individuals were utilized, the past year. Out of those, 1.32 million people were in the wholesale and retail sector,1.07 million were employed in the healthcare sector, and 1.04 million in the service sector.
Japan’s population of the elderly has been growing steadily since 1950s. It is anticipated to reach 34.8% in 2040 when people born between 1971 and 1974 will join the group, as per the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
The number of centenarians, that is people who are aged 100 and above, in Japan has also increased for the 54th consecutive year. The first statistics were measured in 1963, at that time, the centenarians were close to 153. That number stands at roughly 96,000 as of Sunday. The figures are derived from the basic resident register system, and the number of centenarians per 100,000 people is at least 77%.
Japan is currently facing a population crisis, with its elderly population climbing, leading to healthcare and welfare costs skyrocketing. On September 13, the Japanese government decided to raise the population range, to bear 30% cost of healthcare expenses, to contain the rise of the ageing population.
This change will be implemented in 2028, to make such a comprehensive change in the system. The current public health insurance system mandates people aged 75 and above to pay 10% of the medical expenses that are sponsored by the government.
The government is also taking measures to create and build an infrastructure for elderly people, who have no financial support, to avoid social isolation and unwanted loneliness. It said it will also extend aid to people who don’t have a family or a nearby relative to take care of them.