The percentage of Japan’s population aged
65 or over was 7% in 1970. Just 43 years
later, in 2013, it was more than 25.1%. As of
October 2013, Japan had 31.4 million elderly
people. Today one in every five people is 65
years or older, and in 2050 the ratio will likely
be one in three. In 2008, medical
expenditures of this group totaled 20.71
trillion yen, or 55.4% of the total, and per
capita spending amounted to 702,000 yen,
as compared to 169,000 yen for those under
65.
Through advances in medical treatment
technology, the best medical care available
can be given, yet at the same time this can
lengthen the period of care. In addition, with
the progressing trend toward nuclear families
and women entering the work force, caring for
the elderly at home has become difficult for
some households. Concomitantly, there is a
shortage of facilities such as nursing homes
to care for the aged. This has led to the aged,
who primarily require more nursing care than
medical treatment, being cared for at
hospitals for long periods of time rather than
at nursing care facilities, thus accelerating the
increase in medical expenditures for the
elderly.