Elderly Single Households to Top 20 Pct in 32 Prefs. in '50

   Tokyo, Nov. 12 (Jiji Press)--Single-member households of people aged 65 or over will account for over 20 pct of the total households in 32 of Japan's 47 prefectures in 2050, a welfare ministry institute said Tuesday.
   The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research attributed this to a high percentage of baby boomers' unmarried children born in the early 1970s and a decrease in elderly people living with children and grandchildren due to lifestyle changes.
   "The number of people with difficulties making decisions due to dementia and other diseases will increase," an institute official said. "It'll be important to create a support system based on the premise that many people have no families."
   The institute make estimates on the numbers of households by type and prefecture every five years. This time, the institute looked into the 30 years until 2050 based on the 2020 census results.
   According to the latest estimates, the number of single-person elderly households will reach 10.84 million in 2050, up nearly 50 pct from 2020. The share of such households will rise to 20.6 pct from 13.2 pct.

(2024/11/12-17:27)

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