A survey revealed that 34.8% of Japanese companies allow employees to continue working until age 70, reflecting a trend of expanding roles for elderly workers amid an aging society and labor shortages.
On 21 Dec 2025 GMT+7, NHK reported that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare disclosed survey results showing that last year, 34.8% of Japanese companies permitted employees to work until age 70, up 2.9 percentage points from the previous year. This reflects the growing trend of elderly labor participation amid an aging population and labor shortages.
This survey was conducted among approximately 237,700 companies with 21 or more employees, examining employment situations of elderly workers in June 2025 GMT+7.
The survey found that of these companies, 28.3% allowed employees to continue working beyond the company's set retirement age, 3.9% abolished retirement age entirely, and another 2.5% raised the upper limit of working age.
Japan's Ministry of Labour stated that companies are increasingly focusing on employing elderly workers as the system and policies gain wider recognition. The ministry emphasized the government’s commitment to creating a work environment conducive to elderly employment to help alleviate national labor shortages.
By company size, 29.5% of large companies with 301 or more employees provided positions for elderly workers, while medium and small companies with 21 to 300 employees had a higher proportion at 35.2%.
Japanese law requires employers to employ workers who wish to continue working until age 65 and encourages businesses to offer opportunities for continued employment up to age 70.
Source: NHK