Japan

Survey shows huge rise in older carers The number of older people looking after older people has doubled in the past 20 years in Japan. A new report, 2007 Basic Survey of National Life, shows there are an estimated 48.03 million households in Japan, of which 19.26 million have at least one member aged 65 or older - nearly double the number reported in the 1986 survey. In 60 per cent of households, a family member living under the same roof provided the care, and in 34 per cent of these, the carer was aged 70 or above. Of the family members who cared for other family members in their seventies, 44 per cent were themselves also in their seventies.