Tokyo's elderly Japanese residents will number 1.74 million as of Sept. 15, accounting for 14.9 percent of the capital's population, Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials said Monday.
The estimated population of those aged 65 or older represents an increase of 4.5 percent over the previous year and 23.2 percent over the past five years, the officials said. The metropolitan government makes an annual survey of Tokyo's elderly to commemorate Respect-for-the-Aged Day, which falls next Tuesday.
The number of women 65 or older will hit 1.01 million, exceeding the 1 million level for the first time. The number of elderly men, meanwhile, will remain at 724,000, according to the estimate.