People age 80 and over topped 10% of Japan’s population for the first time, government data showed Sunday, as the country with the world’s highest proportion of older people continues to grapple with a rapidly aging society.

The number of people in the age bracket swelled by 270,000 from the previous year to 10.1% of Japan’s total population of around 124.6 million, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said ahead of Monday’s Respect for the Aged Day.

In another record, those age 65 and older, defined as the elderly in Japan, accounted for 29.1% of the total population at 36.2 million, meaning the country continues to have the largest proportion of this age group worldwide, the data showed as of Friday.

Italy and Finland rank second and third, with those age 65 and over accounting for 24.5% and 23.6% of their respective populations.

Women make up 56.6% of Japan’s elderly population, numbering 20.5 million compared with men, who stood at 15.7 million, with the difference said to be a reflection of women having a longer average life expectancy.

Those age 75 and older accounted for 16.1% of the total population, or 20.05 million people, surpassing the 20 million mark for the first time. This is apparently because some of the postwar baby boomers, born between 1947 and 1949, had reached 75.

Meanwhile, 25.2% of older people in Japan were employed in 2022, with the number rising for the 19th-straight year to 9.12 million, another record. The elderly compose 13.6% of the country’s total workforce.

Of all workers age 65 or over, those in the wholesale and retail sectors made up the largest group, at 1.27 million, followed by 1.05 million people in the services industry and 1.04 million people in the medical and welfare sectors.

Of elderly employees, excluding executives at businesses and other organizations, 4.05 million were nonregular workers, such as part-timers and contract workers, accounting for 76.4% of the total.

The number of elderly nonregular workers was up by 2.26 million from the level 10 years before.

The share of the elderly is increasing year by year.

According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the proportion is expected to reach 34.8% in 2040, when the so-called second baby-boomer generation, or people born between 1971 and 1974 to post-World War II baby boomers, will be 65 or older.

The Japanese government has struggled to prevent the declining population from hurting the economy while responding to the pressing and growing needs of older citizens, with many living alone and in need of personal support.

Ballooning social security spending has added to Japan’s massive debt and the shortage of young people has left many industries short of labor — not least carers for the elderly. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said the country risks losing its ability to function if it does not take radical measures.

Japan’s steps to bolster the birthrate haven’t been successful, while authorities have been hesitant to accept large numbers of migrant workers to make up the shortfall. Last year, the number of babies born fell to fewer than 800,000 for the first time since records began in the 19th century.

Similar problems with aging and shrinking populations are spreading across other parts of Asia, with South Korea expected to take over as the world’s grayest nation in the coming decades. China’s population began to shrink in 2022 for the first time in 60 years.

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