Aging Japan to be 40% 'elderly' by 2055, report says

Japan's population is getting older faster than any other country's and 40 percent will be 65 or older by mid-century, double the current figure.

That means Japan will have to shed the notion that the elderly need support and instead view them as a vital part of the workforce, the Cabinet Office said in its annual report on ageing society released on Friday.

Japan already has the world's highest percentage of the elderly, with one out of five people 65 or over as of 2005, and the government sees the figure rising to two out of five in 2055.