About 10 percent of all seniors have been recognized as in great need of external assistance under the public nursing-care insurance system a year after its launch, according to the Health Ministry.

Of the 2.5 million people aged 65 or older, 1.3 million have actually received support at home and 620,000 at facilities under the system, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.

The nursing-care insurance system was launched April 1, 2000, to provide help to senior citizens needing care at a time when the country's population is aging rapidly.