Sep 01 (NHK) - Japan's social security costs hit record high in fiscal 2016 of more than one trillion dollars as the population continues to age.
The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research says the expenditures from April 2016 through March 2017 stood at almost 117 trillion yen, or about one trillion dollars. That's up 1.3 percent from a year before.
Pension payments stood at 490 billion dollars, while medial costs were 346 billion dollars.
Welfare spending such as nursing care for the elderly and welfare benefits was 217 billion dollars.
The social security spending translates into 8,300 dollars per person.
The institute says that in addition to the population aging, advanced medical care and one-off benefit payments to low-income senior citizens contributed to the increase.
The country's social security spending has been setting a new record in recent years.
The government projects that the spending will exceed 1.7 trillion dollars by fiscal 2040.
