About nine million of the Japanese aged 65 or older have been still working, an increase for the 16th consecutive year, and a new high, the authors of the new government report stated.

Japanese society, which is the fastest ageing in the world, now has a record 36.17 million people aged 65 or older, up by 300,000 from a year earlier and accounting for 28.7 percent of the overall population, another record, government statistics show.

The estimated figures, based on data as of Sept. 15, were released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The share of people aged 70 or older represents 22.2 percent of the total population.

There are 20.44 million women aged at least 65, accounting for 31.6 percent of the female population.

The number of people aged 70 or older, including baby boomers born between 1947 and 1949, stands at 27.91 million, up 780,000 from last year.

According to the government's forecasts, the percentage of people aged 65 or older will continue to rise in the years ahead.

The figure is expected to hit more than 35 percent in 2040, when people in the second baby boom generation, who were born between 1971 and 1974, reach 65 or older.

The government is promoting a policy of retaining senior citizens in the workforce as it pushes ahead with reforming the nation’s social security system by 2025, when people in the first baby boom generation turn 75 or older.