Population down for 7th year; elderly’s share at record high

April 13, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's population has dropped for the seventh consecutive year, while the share of people aged 65 or over hit a record high, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.

As of Oct. 1, 2017, the country's total population including foreign residents stood at 126,706,000, down 227,000, or 0.18 percent, from a year before, according to the latest estimates.

The population of people aged 65 or over is put at 35,152,000, topping the 35-million mark for the first time and accounting for a record 27.7 percent of the total.

The elderly population included 17,482,000 people aged 75 or older.

In contrast, the number of people under 15 hit a record low of 15,592,000. Their share sank to 12.3 percent, also lowest on record. Jiji Press