More
than 40,000 Japanese aged 100 or over: survey
Last
Updated: 2009-09-11 15:49:47 -0400 (Reuters Health)
Of the 40,399 citizens in their 100s, 87
percent are women, the Health and Welfare Ministry said.
An aging population that is also forecast to
shrink is among the challenges facing new prime minister
Yukio Hatoyama and his Democratic Party, elected in a landslide last month.
A smaller workforce will have to shoulder
the burden of ballooning pension and healthcare requirements. Just over three
people of working age now support each elderly person, but in 50 years the
ratio will be closer to one to one.
Hatoyama's Democrats have pledged to
standardize the pension system with a minimum of 70,000 yen ($765) per month
for those who had low incomes or lacked sufficient contributions to qualify for
a pension.
The survey was issued ahead of Respect for
the Aged day, a national holiday, on September 21.
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