Number of elderly in Japan hits record high

The government is gradually extending the retirement age to 65 from 60, and is now urging companies a further extension to 70. Tokyo also introduced a new health insurance system in April to deal with bulging medical costs for people 75 or older.

More than 60 percent of Japanese senior citizens think they are healthy, but nearly the same percentage of them go to hospitals almost daily, the report said. The number of bedridden people has also surged, many of them cared for at home by elderly relatives.