On Respect for the Aged Day 2020 Japan has 6.17 million people who are 65 years or older

From Jiji Press

September 21 2020

TOKYO – The estimated number of people aged 65 or older in Japan stood at 36.17 million as of Tuesday, accounting for 28.7 pct of the nation’s total population, with both figures hitting record highs, an internal affairs ministry survey showed Sunday. 

The elderly population increased by 300,000 from a year earlier and its share rose by 0.3 percentage point.

Elderly men totaled 15.73 million, accounting for 25.7 pct of the total male population. The number of elderly women stood at 20.44 million, or 31.6 pct of the female population across Japan.

The share of the elderly population has remained on the rise since 1950. It is expected to come to as high as 35.3 pct in 2040, when the so-called second baby-boomer generation, or people born in 1971-1974 to postwar baby boomers, reaches the age of 65 or older.

The survey results were released ahead of Respect for the Aged Day on Monday, a national holiday.