The number of homeless people in Japan stood at 25,296 earlier this year, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

The figure -- from the first such survey conducted nationwide -- was up 1,206 from the total homeless population counted by separate municipalities two years ago.

Interviews with some 2,000 homeless people showed that 35.6 percent are homeless because they cannot find enough work, 32.9 percent because they were laid off or their companies folded, and 18.8 percent because they could no longer work due to illness or old age.