Number of Women at Least 65 Years Old Tops 20 M. in Japan

September 17, 2018

Tokyo- The number of women aged 65 years old or higher in Japan has topped 20 million for the first time, according to estimates by the internal affairs ministry released Sunday.

As of Saturday, the country had 20.12 million such women, accounting for 31.0 pct of all women, the ministry said.

The combined number of men and women at least 65 years old stood at 35.57 million, up 440,000 from a year earlier, with their proportion of the overall population hitting a record high of 28.1 pct.

The ministry also said people aged 70 or older totaled 26.18 million, making up 20.7 pct of the population.

Their share exceeded 20 pct for the first time ever, probably due to the advance of postwar baby boomers into the age bracket, ministry officials said. Jiji Press