Japan sees record number of people aged 100 or older, and most are women

By&nbspEuronews

Published on 12/09/2025 - 15:31 GMT+2

Japan has deed a grounds precocious successful nan number of group aged 100 aliases older, according to caller data.

It’s nan 55th twelvemonth successful a statement that Japan, renowned for its longevity, has reached this milestone. As of 1 September, nan state had 99,763 centenarians, up 4,644 from nan erstwhile year, Japanese media reported.

The immense mostly – astir 88 per cent – of them are women.

Japan’s oldest female is 114-year-old Kagawa Shigeko, and its oldest man is 111-year-old Mizuno Kiyotaka, nationalist media said.

The authorities began signaling nan number of centenarians successful 1963, erstwhile only 153 group were registered arsenic being 100 aliases older.

The caller figures travel arsenic nary surprise. According to nan United Nations, which uses a different information source, group are much apt to unrecorded to 100 successful Japan than anyplace other successful nan world isolated from Hong Kong.

Health experts judge Japan’s life expectancy is truthful agelong – 84.5 years, connected mean – owed to a operation of manner factors and its beardown wellness system.

Japan has truthful galore seniors that each year, its premier curate presents a congratulatory missive and gift to group turning 100 that year.

The wellness ministry says nan nickname intends to “express gratitude for their galore years of publication to nan improvement of society, and to deepen nan public’s liking and knowing of use for nan elderly”.

More than 52,000 group are eligible for nan grant this year. It will beryllium presented astatine a commemorative arena adjacent week.

The ceremony comes arsenic Japan grapples pinch nan wellness challenges of an ageing and declining population. The number of births past twelvemonth fell for nan 16th consecutive year.