The Japanese practice of "ubasute", or granny dumping, is on the rise as the number of elderly people in the country grows. For the first time, 26.7% of Saitama 's population of hundreds is aged the age of 65 . The situation has been dubbed a "demographic time bomb" by economists, as increasing numbers of older residents are being left outside hospitals and charity offices because family members cannot afford their care. In addition, the country's younger workforce are having fewer children and are burning out from overwork.
The Japanese practice of "ubasute", or granny dumping, is on the rise as the number of elderly people in the country grows. For the first time, 26.7% of Japan's population of 127.11 million is aged over 65. The situation has been dubbed a "demographic time bomb" by economists, as increasing numbers of older residents are being left outside hospitals and charity offices because family members cannot afford their care. In addition, the country's younger workforce are having fewer children and are burning out from overwork.