TOKYO -- The number of welfare applications in Japan exceeded 250,000 in 2024, marking a 0.3 percent increase from the previous year and reaching the highest level in 12 years, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The ministry attributed the rise to multiple factors, including an increase in single-person households and the impact of rising prices.

According to preliminary data, 255,897 welfare applications were filed nationwide in 2024. Since data collection began in 2013, welfare applications declined steadily but have been increasing for five straight years since 2020.

Meanwhile, as of December 2024, the total number of households receiving welfare stood at 1,652,199. Notably, elderly single-person households accounted for 840,415 cases, about half of the total, the data showed.