Elderly Living Alone To Make Up A Fifth Of Japanese Households By 2025 – Study

By 2050, one in every five Japanese households will be headed by an older person living alone, according to a new study released Friday, as Japan struggles to find effective ways to care for its aging population.

By 2050, 10.8 million senior individuals will be living alone, accounting for 20.6 percent of all households, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research’s five-year estimate.

It represents an increase from 2020, when 7.37 million seniors, or 13.2 percent of all households, lived alone.

The estimate came as young Japanese people postponed marriage or chose not to have children, citing financial constraints.

Japan is experiencing a rapidly deteriorating population crisis, as its growing senior population results in rising medical and welfare costs and a dwindling labor force to pay for them.

The institution stated that many elderly individuals now have children or siblings who can care for them, even if they live alone.

“However, 30 years from now, the proportion of elderly single-person households with no children — whether married, bereaved, or separated — is expected to increase, and the number of siblings of the individual will also decrease,” according to the report.

Japan’s total population fell by 595,000 to 124 million in 2023, the 13th consecutive annual decline, according to government figures released Friday.

The extent of the reduction was countered by an influx of foreigners, according to the figures, while the number of Japanese nationals fell by 837,000 to 121 million.

The Japanese government has made numerous attempts to slow the loss and ageing of its population without much success.

 

 

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