With obesity on the rise among Japan’s aging population, so is diabetes. More than ten million Japanese were estimated to be living with the disease as of 2016, according to a survey released by the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare this summer. That is an increase of 500,000 over the findings of a previous survey conducted four years earlier.
Elderly Japanese are more susceptible to disease in general, and more Japanese are becoming obese due to irregular eating habits and lack of exercise. The number of diabetes cases in the country is expected to increase further as Japan’s society continues to age.