Japan\u2019s rapidly ageing population is fueling demand in healthcare, nursing care and lifestyle industries.With 36.25 million people over 65, technology, including care robots and AI platforms, is expanding senior support and services.The longevity economy drives innovation, investment and resilience, offering lessons for other aging societies.<\/p>\n
As life expectancies rise and populations age, societies must address mounting challenges in healthcare and long-term care. At the same time, the demographic change is unlocking new market opportunities.<\/p>\n
At the global forefront of ageing is Japan, the world’s most rapidly ageing country. According to Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications<\/a>, as of 2024, the country had a record 36.25 million people aged 65 and over, accounting for 29.3% of the total population. This share is projected to rise to 34.8% in 2040 and 36.3% in 2045. Japan\u2019s proportion of elderly residents is already far higher than second-ranked Martinique (25.3%), making it the world\u2019s most aged society.<\/p>\n The longevity economy in Japan is emerging as a market of considerable scale. It is expected to expand<\/a> from JPY 96 trillion ($652.5 billion) in 2023 to JPY 115 trillion ($780 billion) by 2040. By sector, the elderly market in 2023 included JPY 29 trillion ($195 billion) in healthcare, JPY 11.7 trillion ($79 billion) in nursing care and JPY 55.7 trillion ($378 billion) in lifestyle-related industries, highlighting the diverse ecosystem supporting seniors\u2019 daily lives.<\/p>\n Analyses<\/a> show that Japan\u2019s elderly population has become \u201cfive years younger\u201d in terms of health status and employment rates over the past 15 years. Looking ahead, the number of seniors with higher disposable incomes, particularly those unmarried or without children, is projected to increase by 2040. These shifts are fuelling demand not only in healthcare and nursing care, but also in lifestyle-related industries, driving further market growth.<\/p>\n The role of technology<\/p>\n One notable example of the use of technology is \u201ccare robots\u201d. At Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, the humanoid robot AIREC<\/a>, developed by Waseda University and others, was showcased<\/a>. Equipped with AI, it can autonomously assist with daily tasks considered challenging such as putting on socks. The roadmap envisions commercialization<\/a> of robots capable of household tasks and low-risk caregiving duties by 2030, expanding to hospitality, household chores, caregiving, nursing and some medical procedures by 2040. By 2050, these robots are expected to evolve into \u201ccompanions\u201d for the elderly, capable of communication through both language and touch. <\/p>\n A growing market for conversation partner services<\/p>\n Beyond healthcare and nursing care, lifestyle-related industries for seniors are rapidly expanding. One of the fast-growing segments is \u201cconversation partner services.\u201d According to the Ministry of Health<\/a>, the number of single-person households aged 65 and older surpassed 9 million for the first time in 2024. Among these, 61.7% were comprised of individuals aged 75 and above. Seniors living alone face heightened risks<\/a>, including delayed detection of illness and increased dementia risk due to reduced social interaction. Reflecting these challenges, the conversation partner service market is projected to exceed JPY 100 billion<\/a> ($670 million).<\/p>\n These services range from casual daily companions to trained senior communicators<\/a>. Regular interaction not only provides reassurance but also helps monitor seniors\u2019 well-being. New AI-driven senior-focused matching platforms are also emerging. One example is Hahalol<\/a>, a service for users aged 50 and above. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), it analyses profiles and matches users with potential partners, whether romantic or platonic. The company has raised JPY 560 million ($3.8 million) in funding, underscoring growing investor interest.<\/p>\n Ageing unlocks new market opportunities<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s experience as the world\u2019s most aged society illustrates the potential for innovation and the creation of new services within the longevity economy. It also offers valuable insights for countries facing rapid aging, providing guidance for building a sustainable and resilient future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s rapidly ageing population is fueling demand in healthcare, nursing care and lifestyle industries.With 36.25 million people over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[3128,191,189,3130,3133,3132,3131,188,190,3129,3127,3134,595],"class_list":{"0":"post-10672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-davos","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-economy-of-japan","11":"tag-globalization","12":"tag-globalization-four","13":"tag-globalization4","14":"tag-globalization4-0","15":"tag-japans-economy","16":"tag-japanese-economy","17":"tag-klaus-schwab","18":"tag-wef","19":"tag-what-does-globalization-mean","20":"tag-world-economic-forum"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}