Older People and Aged Society in Japan #1

 

Japan as a Super-Aged Society: 

Health and Work among Older People

It is widely known that Japan has had extremely high proportions of older people aged 65 and over. To help understand this super-aged society, let us look at some recent data on general trends related to population aging. For comparisons, we have selected Germany, France, and the UK, which are similar to Japan in terms of social security systems and GDP, as well as the Netherlands, the first country in the world to develop a long-term care insurance system. These are also the countries we have mainly studied at the International Longevity Center-Japan in our international comparative studies.

Naturally, we cannot determine which country is better or worse based on these numbers. Each country has its own culture and systems, and these data do not necessarily indicate how satisfied or fulfilled older people feel in each country.

 

Proportion of older people in Japan and selected countries (%)

	Japan	Germany	France	UK	Netherlands
2022
Total	29.0	22.1	21.1	18.9	20.1
Male	25.9	18.9	18.9	25.9	18.9
Female	32.0	24.4	23.2	21.4	20.1
2010
Total	23.0	20.6	16.7	16.4	15.4
Male	20.2	18.0	14.3	14.7	13.7
Female	25.7	23.2	18.9	18.0	17.2

(Source: OECD)

 

In Japan, the proportion of older people is about to reach 30%. This table shows that the other countries are also experiencing rapid population aging, but Japan has the highest speed of aging between 2010 and 2022. You can also see that the proportion is higher for females than for males in all countries. As we show later, this gender difference reflects longer life expectancy among females.

According to the World Bank, the average proportion of older people is around 10% at the global level while the OECD average is 18%, showing a significant difference. The World Bank data also show that Japan has the second highest proportion of older people following Monaco. If we look at local data, we may find some areas with higher proportions than national averages.

 

Labor force participation rate by older people (%)

	Japan	Germany	France	UK	Netherlands
2022                         (2019 in UK)
Total	25.6	8.5	4.4	11.1	11.1
Male	34.9	11.3	5.7	14.1	15.4
Female	18.4	6.2	3.4	8.5	7.1
2010
Total	19.8	4.0	1.8	8.7	6.0
Male	28.7	5.7	2.6	11.7	9.5
Female	13.2	2.7	1.2	6.2	3.2

(Source: WHO)

 

In such a super-aged society, how do older people in Japan engage in their communities and society? The table above shows labor force participation rates by older people, including those who are employed, self-employed, and seeking employment. The rates are exceptionally high in Japan, and you can once again see a remarkable increase between 2010 and 2022.

There are several reasons behind this growth, including older people’s own efforts to prepare for longer lives, growing expectations for older people to remain in the labor market due to declining birth rates, and government measures to raise the retirement age.

 

Life expectancy at age 60 (years)

	Japan	Germany	France	UK	Netherlands
2021
Total	20.4	17.3	18.6	17.5	17.8
Male	18.7	16.4	17.4	16.9	17.2
Female	21.9	18.3	19.8	18.2	18.4

(Source: WHO)

 

How about the health status of older people? The table above shows life expectancy at age 60, which should better reflect the actual health status of older people than life expectancy at birth. As you can see, Japan has the longest life expectancy, meaning people have longer and healthier later lives.

Some possible contributing factors include healthy eating habits, high levels of health literacy, social interaction (including families, communities, and work), as well as comprehensive medical care and social security systems.

(Similar results can be found on life expectancy at birth for both sexes in the same period: 73.4 in Japan, 68.9 in Germany, 70.1 in France, 68.6 in the UK, and 70.0 in the Netherlands.)

 

These tables suggest that, in general, older people in Japan stay active and pay attention to their health rather than being passive or withdrawn in this super-aged society.

 <Written by Shinichi Ogami>

References (all accessed on September 1, 2024)

・OECD, Data Explorer, Historical population data

・World Bank, Population ages 65 and above (% of total population)

・WHO, Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and ageing

Labour force participation rate by older people (65+ years)

・WHO, The Global Health Observatory

Global Health Estimates: Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy