There is no doubt that Japan is turning gray. According to the 2001 edition of the White Paper on the Aged Society, Japanese aged 65 years or older account for 17% of the entire national population and the figure is expected to top 25% (approximately 30 million) in 10 years. Also, the statistics of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) show that the number of adults and children with disabilities totals to 3.34 million as of fiscal 2001
- Cabinet Office, "Annual Report on the Aging Society: 2001-2002,"
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Review of Health and Welfare Measures for People with Disabilities,"
http://www1.mhlw.go.jp/english/wp_5/vol1/p2c4s2.html - Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT)
http://www.soumu.go.jp/english/index.html - Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou/2002/08/h0808-2.html
Total population and composition by the generation
- 0 - 14 years old 18,449 (14.5%)
- 15 - 64 years old 85,997 (67.8%)
- 65 - years old 22,271 (17.5%)
Total population 126,920 (thousand)
Population over 65 was reached to 17.5% by Census Bureaus
Japanese aged 65 and over will be 25% of the entire national population at the year of 2015,people over-fifties is expected to go beyond 50% of the whole population of aged 20 or above in 2005. That means, almost half of voters, taxpayers or consumers of Japan will be at age 50 or above.
Japan reached an aged society in only 24 years while France took 104 years.
