Society

Japan's homeless trending older and long-term: survey

Apr 27 (Japan Times) - The average age of homeless people in Japan has hit a record 63.6 years old, with 40% of them living on the streets for more than a decade, according to a health ministry survey conducted every five years to keep track of homelessness in the country.

According to the survey released Tuesday, the average age was 61.5 in 2016, the last time it was conducted.

Of the 1,169 people interviewed in November in Tokyo’s central 23 wards and other major cities with a population of 500,000 or more, 70% were age 60 or older. Those age 70 and over accounted for 34.4%, up from 19.7% in the previous survey.

“People who became homeless a long time ago grew old and continued to live on the street,” a ministry official said.

The data also covers the effects of COVID-19, given that the survey was last conducted before the pandemic began. Of the respondents, 6.3% said that the pandemic was why they were now living on the streets.

In a separate health ministry survey conducted in January, 3,448 people were reported as homeless, the lowest figure since 2003, when the ministry started the survey.

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