Japan celebrates it's great to be grey

As Japan celebrated a holiday today venerating its elderly, an annual survey showed the country had more than ever to celebrate: a record 24.31 million Japanese – almost one in five – have reached their 65th birthday.

The survey by the Public Management Ministry was the latest to paint a picture of a greying nation in which senior citizens are expected to make up more than a third of the population by 2050.

Released in conjunction with Respect for the Aged Day, the survey showed about 710,000 people had joined the 65-and-over age bracket this year, which now accounts for a record 19.0% of Japan’s population. The figure was up 0.5% from a year ago.

Japan is one of the senior citizens of the industrialised world, reflecting longer lifespans and a steadily falling birth rate.

Japan boasts the world’s longest life expectancy – 85.23 years for women and 78.32 for men in 2002 – and the oldest documented person, Kamato Hongo, who turns 116 tomorrow.

Hongo, who was born on September 16, 1887, sleeps for two days at a time but likes to hum folk songs and can move her hands in time to the music, family members say.