More than 100k people in Japan are now aged 100 or older
6 hours ago
- Japan's centenarian population has surpassed 100,000 for the first time, reaching 107,677, with 88% being women.
- The oldest person is 114-year-old Kishimoto Fuyo from Kyoto, and the oldest man is 112-year-old Kato Hikaru from Kumamoto.
- Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno attributes longevity to medical and technological progress but warns of challenges to social security sustainability.
- Experts credit healthy diet (fish, vegetables, rice, low saturated fat) and active lifestyle (walking, cycling, stretching) for Japanese longevity.
- Japan's aging is reflected in adult nappy sales exceeding baby nappies for over a decade, and new products like exoskeletons and auto-adjusting eyewear for seniors.
- Japan's total fertility rate hit a record low of 1.14 in 2023, far below the replacement rate of 2.1.
- The population is projected to drop by 30% from its 2008 peak to 87 million by 2070, with seniors making up nearly 40%.
- The government calls the decline an 'existential crisis' and a 'quiet emergency' despite subsidies for childbearing.
- Immigration has not offset the decline, with foreigners comprising only 3% of the population and growing opposition.
- Centenarian numbers have grown from 153 in 1963 to over 100,000 now, but data reliability is questioned, as a 2010 audit found over 230,000 unaccounted-for centenarians.
- Concerns about record-keeping and pension fraud have been raised due to miscounts.