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Japan
More than one million over 90 in Japan
Mis en ligne le 14/11/2005
The number of people aged 90 or older totals 1,016,000 in Japan. At the same time, people aged 65 or older who are currently working or looking for jobs total 4.9 million, representing 7.4 percent of the nation's total labor force. The graying population and low birthrate threaten to leave the world's second-largest economy with a labor shortage. People aged 65 or older are expected to represent 11 percent of the working population, in 2015.
The number of people aged 90 or older topped 1 million for the first time in 2004, according to a government white paper. The 2005 white paper on the elderly says the number of people aged 90 or older totalled 1,016,000, including about 23,000 centenarians. The graying population and low birthrate threaten to leave the world's second-largest economy with a labor shortage, erode the tax base and strain the pension system as fewer taxpayers try to support the expanding elderly population. As baby-boomers begin turning 60 in 2007, "It is essential that the government create a society in which the skill, the capability and the experience of the elderly can be utilized to maintain the vitality of the state," the report says, urging the government to increase work opportunities for senior citizens by helping them find jobs or establish businesses. People aged 65 or older who are currently working or looking for jobs totalled 4.9 million, representing 7.4 percent of the nation's total labor force. The figure is expected to rise to 7.24 million, or 11 percent of the total, in 2015, the report said. (The Japan Times: June 4, 2005 – "Japan's age 90 and older crowd now tops 1 million")
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