The number of welfare recipients in the country dipped in April from the previous month after hitting new highs for 11 straight months, the welfare ministry said Wednesday.
The number of people claiming welfare came to 2,151,843, a fall of 9,210, while the number of households on welfare dropped by 596 to 1,578,032, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
The ministry traced the drop to children of households on welfare graduating and starting work at the start of the new fiscal year.
Of the total households living on welfare, those of senior citizens 65 and older accounted for more than 40 percent, at 709,345.