The number of people in Japan aged 65 and over has reached 36.25 million, accounting for a record high 29.3 percent of the population, government figures showed.

The nation of 123.9 million people only recorded 727,277 births last year. Currently deaths outnumber births in Japan by about two to one.

In 2023 the total fertility rate, indicating the number of children a woman has in her lifetime, fell to a record low of 1.20, with Tokyo dipping below 1.0 for the first time to 0.99.

A rate of 2.1 is considered the minimum for a population to sustain itself.

Japan’s rate of 29.3 percent being over the age of 65 is the highest among the world’s 200 countries and regions.

Among G-7 major countries, the equivalent rate in Italy is 24.6 percent, in Germany it is 23.2 percent, and in France it is 22.1 percent.

China’s is 14.7 percent and India’s is 7.1 percent.

The number of working elderly people in Japan is also increasing.

According to a government labour force survey, the number of workers aged 65 and older in 2023 was a record high 9.14 million, up by 20,000 from the previous year.