The number of households in the nation receiving welfare increased by 634 in October last year from the previous month to hit a record high of 1,642,907, up for the sixth straight month, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.
The growth reflects an increase in the number of welfare-dependent elderly households.
Excluding households for which welfare payments have been suspended temporarily, households where all members are aged 65 or over and those made up of both the elderly and children under 18 totaled 865,332, or over 50 percent of the total number of recipient households.
Of such elderly households, one-person households accounted for about 90 percent.
The number of recipient households headed by sick, injured or disabled members reached 420,025. The number of families on welfare consisting of single mothers and children under 18 stood at 92,655.
