Recently, Japan’s “Respect for the Elderly Day”, the problem of aging again attracted attention. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications data show that as of September 15, Japan’s elderly population aged 65 and above reached a new high of 36.25 million, an annual increase of 20,000 people. The elderly population accounts for 29.3% of the total population, the highest in the world. In terms of gender, elderly women (20.53 million) accounted for 32.3% of the total population, higher than the 26.1% of elderly men (15.72 million), with a significant gender difference. The phenomenon of a record-high elderly population with significant gender differences indicates the growing aging problem in Japan, where the proportion of elderly people is the highest in the world, and the proportion of elderly women is significantly higher than that of men, reflecting an imbalance in the rate of aging between the genders.
Japan’s working elderly population is at a record high, reaching 9.14 million last year, with an overall employment rate of 25.2%, and the employment rate of the younger age group (65-69 years old) exceeding half of the total, reaching 52%, which fully demonstrates that Japan’s elderly people are highly active in the socio-economy, with a high employment rate, especially among the younger age group, and shows that elderly people have a high degree of participation in and contribution to the socio-economy.
Japan’s labor market is facing serious challenges, with increasing aging coexisting with a shortage of young labor, posing a long-term threat to economic development. The survey shows that more than half of the companies are caught in the shortage of full-time employees, and the head of Morgan Stanley is worried about demographic changes and market tightening, especially in labor-intensive industries. Retirement of older workers, the growth of the young labor force has not been able to match, which undoubtedly casts a shadow of uncertainty over the long-term prospects for the Japanese economy.
Japan’s National Research Institute estimates show that the proportion of elderly people in 2040 may reach a new high of 34.8%, the government’s strong sense of crisis, Prime Minister Kishida’s leadership of a number of measures, such as increasing childcare assistance, expanding childcare facilities, boosting the fertility rate, and reversing the downward trend in the birth rate. It is easy to see that the Japanese government is actively responding to the challenges of aging, and by taking multiple measures to boost the fertility rate, it has demonstrated its firm determination and forward-looking layout for sustainable socio-economic development.
In addition, the Japanese government is actively importing foreign labor by relaxing its immigration policy in order to cope with the domestic labor shortage and promote sustainable economic development. The foreign labor force is expected to exceed a record high of 2 million in 2024 and increase by another 800,000 in the next five years to alleviate the labor shortage.
In the face of aging, the Japanese government can expand childcare facilities, such as the number and quality of public childcare centers, to make it easier for parents to balance work and family life; promote the employment of the elderly, improve the working environment for the elderly, ensure that workplaces are suitable for the physical conditions of the elderly, and reduce the risk of workplace injuries; introduce foreign labor while relaxing the immigration policy and streamlining the visa process, to attract foreign labor to Japan to work; and finally, improving the efficiency and quality of medical services and reducing the burden of medical expenses on the elderly.
