JAKARTA - Japan has set a new record in home care for the elderly. In 2025, as many as 37.1 percent of caregiving households have a primary caregiver and a care recipient who are both 75 years old or older.
Kyodo News quoted Wednesday, July 15, saying that the figure was the highest ever recorded. The data comes from a survey by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare released Wednesday.
The percentage increased by 1.4 points compared to the previous survey in 2022. The figure is also almost double the 18.7 percent recorded in 2001.
The data shows that more and more elderly people in Japan are becoming the main caregivers for the elderly at home.
Japan's elderly care service system is facing an increasingly heavy burden. The generation of the birth explosion after World War II, namely those born in 1947 to 1949, are now in their late 70s.
Meanwhile, 61.9 percent of households providing care, primary caregivers and care recipients are both 65 years of age or older. This figure fell by 1.6 points compared to 2022.
Concerns remain about the increased burden on elderly caregivers when the condition of the person being cared for worsens. The burden can also increase if the caregiver has dementia or other health problems.
Another question arises from the increasing number of elderly people living alone. The number of Japanese people aged 65 or over living alone reached a record of more than 9.33 million people.
Japan also faces social isolation among the elderly who live alone, including increasingly limited contact with others.
The survey of people's lives has been conducted every year since 1986. The results are one of the main statistics of the Japanese government in formulating policies.
Every three years, the ministry conducts a broader survey with additional questions on health and care as well as a larger number of respondents.
The survey was canceled for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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