Japan's over-65s hit record high 36.25 mil; 1 in 4 working

What are the potential prime ministerial candidates saying about how this problem is to be tackled?

They have no answers except to spend ever increasingly higher amounts of tax money on armaments,Ukraine and overseas trips…

The ministry's labor survey, meanwhile, showed some 9.14 million elderly people were in employment in 2023, a new high, and making up 13.5 percent of the overall workforce.

There are some older people doing what they love and enjoying life and activity.

But I see too many old timers trying to stand outside in the mid day heat with batons putting in their time for a little money to stay alive. There is much fundamentally wrong with this system.

Just increase the amount of the pensions they receive. People over 65 have higher propensity to consume than any other age group. If they had more disposable income at hand, they would spend even more money and that would benefit younger generations who are engaged in manufacturing products and providing services the elderly people need.

Japan has a very bad dependency ratio problem that gets worse every year.

The retirement age should be raised to 70 asap.

It takes a long time to get old, 65 years in fact. A long time to prepare, to save and invest.

How so many people seem to not know this is a mystery.

Meiyouwenti, maybe the younger/middle aged generation are actually already the greatest consumers ever, larger tv, smarter hand toy tou use 18hrs/day, greatest energy burners, so which generation is destroying the atmosphere, kuriupisu could not agree more, Buck (ok I am western) A buck encouraging procrastination! like it guy..., also like jpn. mass immigration has failed most of the previous colonial masters

The retirement age should be raised to 70 asap.

LOL, you post this on 'Respect for the Aged' day?

As a mid 50s dad who's currently a bit worn-out, I think 3 out of 4 people over 65 not working is a fine result by Japanese society. Lucky them!

Some over 65s will be working because they want to. If that sounds unkind or weird, I don't think Biden or Trump or however many in the LDP are working because they are short of money. Harris is being presented as a burst of youth, but won't she hit 65 too in office if she gets elected? If she was a seishain at a Japanese company, she'd hit retirement (60) next month. Many people get kept on now, but with huge pay cuts.

(I'll probably work till my UK pension kicks in at 67)

People over 65 have higher propensity to consume than any other age group.

I don't know if this is true in Japan, especially the "propensity", but there is currently a sizeable group of wealthy older people in other First World countries. This is a fairly new development and reflects things like the ability to make lots of dosh on real estate and gold plated "final salary" type pensions which no one gets any more. It's also not uncommon now for over 65s to go to rock concerts, play video games, and wear formerly young people's clothes. Watch 30 or 40 year old news reports featuring old people and they look ancient.

https://cpram.com/gbr/en/professional/publications/megatrends/the-consumption-by-the-silver-population

@Mr. Kipling

Not everybody can afford to save and invest.

@Hello kitty 321

Save very little from 25 and get a lot when reaching 65. No magic involved.

hello Kitty....

Not everybody can afford to save and invest.

There may well be hard times when this is not possible but if this is for your entire working life and you are in a first world country like Japan then you have no excuse.

It’s very disheartening to be forced to work beyond 65.

It doesn't seem like the pension system is ensuring a good life for us after retirement.

People calling for the pension to be increased for those over 65 need to understand that this will also mean hikes in the pension payments of everybody else and hikes in health insurance. Making people over 40 whether they've used the medical system or not pay an extra 'nursing care' fee has been around for a few decades now. The J authorities at national, prefectural and local level will be looking to make up funding shortfalls that come when a population ages.

The ageing demographic is one of the reason why some of us believe in the J authorities nailing those who are continually late with their social welfare and tax obligations despite having salaried jobs or other jobs that are enough to pay the obligations.

While the foreigner population is increasing in Japan, it needs to be an increase based on key industries that need labor and not on 'English teachers' who make up a significant proportion of those falling way behind in their tax/social welfare obligations or leaving Japan with significant debts to city hall and the J tax office. Any money they pay isn't enough to contribute the kind of tax revenues that this society needs to function properly.

The continuing practice of issuing visas to foreigners with a college degree and no teaching credentials who then go to work at black companies that pay them peanuts because they don't have any real marketable skills to compete in the wider Japanese job market is something that doesn't make any economic or social sense in this society. Start the process of dealing with the funding shortfalls of an ageing demographic by cutting out those kinds of people from even coming to Japan.

This is despite Japanese people paying into a pension fund with one of the highest premiums in the world. Most pension systems an investment fund with dividends. The Japanese system gives you a return of ¥20 for every ¥100 you pay into it. It’s no surprise that so many retirees have to continue to work. The Japanese pension system is a pyramid scam.

The retirement age should be raised to 70 asap.

LOL, you post this on 'Respect for the Aged' day?

I concur. As someone who is 63 and will be forced to retire in 2 years while I still have a son in university and a daughter in high school! At the very least, retirement should be optional at 65. If one is healthy and can perform his/her duties then being forced to retire is an infringement on an individual's right to make a living

You will either get old or die or both. So why not prepare for something that is going to happen? Or if you choose not to, please don't expect sympathy if you have to keep working in your 70's.

Life is all about choices. Some are not really that difficult.

Is easy to say saving money, or invests them, when your yearly salary is less than 6 million Yen, and each month you can barely afford to pay all your taxes, utilities and food.

Japan has by far the lowest pension for all developed nations of the world, and the real salary is getting lower and lower every year.