The Japanese Government has expressed its concern about the demographic evolution of the country of the rising sun. According to official data, more than 10% of the Japanese population is over eighty years old, reflecting accelerated aging that would represent a serious crisis in the functioning of Japanese society.
As of Sept. 15, Japan had a population of about 12 million people who were 80 years old or older, according to Japan’s National Population and Social Security Research Institute. This figure is a cause for concern, since it projects that by the year 2040, citizens over 65 years will represent 34.8% of the total population.
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Additionally, there is a 0.1% year-on-year increase in Japan’s population that is 65 years old or older, which is equivalent to 29.1% of the current population. The country has just broken its own centenary record, with more than 92 thousand inhabitants over one hundred years of age. This marked increase in population longevity is largely attributed to the development of medical technologies and treatments.
In this context, the Asian country also faces the lowest birth rate on the planet, which has largely contributed to it, becoming the oldest nation in the hemisphere.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared that the country is on the verge of knowing whether it is possible to continue functioning as a society, “focusing attention on policies related to children and parenting is an issue that cannot wait or be postponed,” he emphasized.
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The most notable case of longevity, today, is that of Fusa Tatsumi, 116 years old, who currently holds the title of the oldest person in Japan and resides in the Osaka prefecture, in the west of the country.
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This growing demographic trend poses significant challenges for the future of Japan, and the Government claims to be working on policies and strategies to address the socioeconomic effects of this aging population.
