Japan’s aging society can serve as a mirror for Taiwan’s future. According to a survey by the Japanese government, more than one in three households is a single-person or elderly household.
According to the latest survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, TBS shows that as of June last year, the number of single-person households and households with elderly people over 65 years old in Japan both hit record highs, while the number of households with underage children fell to the lowest level in history, highlighting the severe situation of low birth rate and aging.
The survey pointed out that there are 18.995 million single-person households in Japan, accounting for about 34.6% of all households, setting a record high since the statistics began in 1986.
The second largest number is households with elderly people over 65 years old, with a total of 17.207 million households, accounting for 31.4% of all households, also setting a new record.
In contrast, there are only 9.074 million households with children under the age of 18, accounting for 16.6% of all households, a record low.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare analyzed that the reasons behind this trend include “an increase in the number of elderly people living alone, a rise in the unmarried rate, and a decline in the number of births,” indicating that the declining birthrate and aging population have had a significant impact on family structure.
