Latest figures released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication show that the population of over-75s in the country now exceeds 10 percent.

In 1950, when the government started keeping this statistic, the figure was 1.3 percent, rising to 5 percent by 1991.

The latest data show that men over 75 comprise 7.7 percent of the total male population, with women over 75 comprising 12.2 percent of all Japan’s women.

In addition, the data show those aged 14 or younger now make only 13.5 percent of the population, down from 35.4 percent in 1950, and that the population is graying faster than predicted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, based on the 2000 census.