Record number of Japanese are living alone: survey | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
June 01, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JUNE 01, 2025
Record number of Japanese are living alone: survey

South Asia

Xinhua/UNB
06 July, 2024, 12:40 pm
Last modified: 06 July, 2024, 12:45 pm

Related News

  • CA Yunus' visit elevates Dhaka-Tokyo ties: Shafiqul Alam
  • Japan to show leadership in Asia, boost cooperation with Bangladesh, hopes CA Yunus
  • CA Yunus leaves for home wrapping up Japan tour
  • Bangladesh, Japan to sign Economic Partnership Agreement by year-end
  • Expatriates' remittance helps Bangladesh make turnaround: CA

Record number of Japanese are living alone: survey

Single-person households in the Asian country totalled 18.5 million as of June 2023, comprising 34% of all households, the highest figures since records began in 1986, according to a national survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

Xinhua/UNB
06 July, 2024, 12:40 pm
Last modified: 06 July, 2024, 12:45 pm
Representation image shows a woman sitting alone. Photo: Collected
Representation image shows a woman sitting alone. Photo: Collected

Japan saw a record number of people living alone last year, while households with children under the age of 18 reached an all-time low, a government survey showed on Friday.

Single-person households in the Asian country totalled 18.5 million as of June 2023, comprising 34% of all households, the highest figures since records began in 1986, according to a national survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Among solo dwellers, the number of elderly individuals living alone totalled 8.55 million, the second-highest on record.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

In contrast, households with unmarried children under 18 dropped to a record low of 9.83 million amid Japan's ongoing challenges from an ageing population and declining birth rates.

The ministry attributed the trends to the country's advanced age demographics and increasing rates of unmarried individuals.

"The primary reason for the increase in one-person households is the rise in the number of unmarried individuals, many of which are non-regular employees finding it difficult to support a family economically," commented Takashi Kadokura, a Japanese economist.

The survey also addressed financial hardships, with 59.6% of households reporting that life is "very difficult" or "somewhat difficult," up 8 percentage points from the previous year.

In particular, 65% of households with children described their financial situation as challenging, a significant increase from 2022, citing the rising cost of living as a primary factor behind the financial stress.

The average household income also declined, dropping to 5.24 million yen (about $32,590) from 5.46 million yen (about $33,960), as recorded in the previous survey.

World+Biz

Japan / Loneliness / alone

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Illustration: TBS
    Tax-free income ceiling to be raised, slabs restructured
  • Infographic: TBS
    Govt targets Dec opening of Dhaka airport's 3rd terminal but Japanese consortium wants 2 more months
  • Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus returns to Dhaka on 1 June 2025, wrapping up his four-day official tour to Japan. Photo: Courtesy
    CA Yunus returns home wrapping up Japan tour

MOST VIEWED

  • BAT Bangladesh has to vacate Mohakhali HQ as SC rejects lease appeal
    BAT Bangladesh has to vacate Mohakhali HQ as SC rejects lease appeal
  • Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus speaks to Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on 29 May. Photo: Nikkei Asia
    Bangladesh ready to buy more US cotton, oil to reduce trade gap: Yunus
  • UCB approves 2024 financials, allocates entire profit to NPL provisions
    UCB approves 2024 financials, allocates entire profit to NPL provisions
  • Tax exemptions for key industries to go, sweeping tax hikes planned
    Tax exemptions for key industries to go, sweeping tax hikes planned
  • Matarbari 1,200MW coal-fired plant in Moheshkhali, Cox's Bazar. File Photo: Nupa Alam/TBS
    Supplier slapped with 5 conditions to unload rejected Matarbari coal shipment
  • US Embassy Dhaka. Picture: Courtesy
    Birth tourism not permitted on US visitor visa: US Embassy Dhaka

Related News

  • CA Yunus' visit elevates Dhaka-Tokyo ties: Shafiqul Alam
  • Japan to show leadership in Asia, boost cooperation with Bangladesh, hopes CA Yunus
  • CA Yunus leaves for home wrapping up Japan tour
  • Bangladesh, Japan to sign Economic Partnership Agreement by year-end
  • Expatriates' remittance helps Bangladesh make turnaround: CA

Features

Babar Ali, Ikramul Hasan Shakil, and Wasfia Nazreen are leading a bold resurgence in Bangladeshi mountaineering, scaling eight-thousanders like Everest, Annapurna I, and K2. Photos: Collected

Back to 8000 metres: How Bangladesh’s mountaineers emerged from a decade-long pause

1d | Panorama
Photos: Courtesy

Behind the looks: Bangladeshi designers shaping celebrity fashion

1d | Mode
Photo collage of the sailors and their catch. Photos: Shahid Sarkar

Between sky and sea: The thrilling life afloat on a fishing ship

1d | Features
For hundreds of small fishermen living near this delicate area, sustainable fishing is a necessity for their survival. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain

World Ocean Day: Bangladesh’s ‘Silent Island’ provides a fisheries model for the future

2d | The Big Picture

More Videos from TBS

Fuel prices cut; effective from June 1

Fuel prices cut; effective from June 1

2h | TBS News Updates
News of The Day, 31 MAY 2025

News of The Day, 31 MAY 2025

5h | TBS News of the day
Which way will the job crisis take the Chinese young generation?

Which way will the job crisis take the Chinese young generation?

5h | Others
How Banglalink is implementing Veon DO 1440

How Banglalink is implementing Veon DO 1440

4h | TBS Stories
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net