White paper on crime 2012 Part4/Chapter4
According to estimates made in the 2012 edition of the Annual Report on the Aging Society, Japan has reached the point of aging society that no other country in the world has ever experienced before. As of October 1, 2011, the population of elderly (persons aged 65 or older) reached the record high level of 29.75 million (29.25 million the previous year), and the percentage to total population (elderly rate) rose to 23.3% (23.0% the previous year). In addition, it has been estimated that the population of elderly will reach 33.95 million in 2015, when every one of the so-called “baby-boom generation” (those born between 1947 and 1949) age group would be elderly, and with that number then continuing to increase.