Japan sets new record with nearly 100,000 people over 100 years old

by

Japan has reached a remarkable point: almost 100,000 of its citizens are now 100 years old or older, according to government data.

Japan has reached a new high in its number of centenarians – people aged 100 or older – for the 55th year in a row. This is thanks to the country’s consistently high life expectancy and its long history of having some of the world’s oldest residents. Just in the 1960s, only 153 people in Japan were 100 or older, but today that number has grown to 99,763.

Japan has an exceptionally high number of centenarians, with women making up a large majority – 88% of the total. Experts believe this is due to factors like low rates of obesity, diets focused on fish and vegetables, and regular exercise, including group activities like Radio Taiso. Currently, Japan’s oldest resident is 114-year-old Shigeko Kagawa, while the oldest man is 111-year-old Kiyotaka Mizuno.

Japanese centenarian stats released ahead of Elderly Day

This announcement was made just before Japan’s Elderly Day on September 15th, a national holiday celebrating people who turn 100. On this day, new centenarians receive a congratulatory letter and a silver cup from the prime minister. This year, over 52,000 people qualified for this special recognition.

Since Japan started keeping records in 1963, the number of people living to be 100 or older has been consistently increasing. It began with just over 150 centenarians, grew to 1,000 in 1981, then 10,000 by 1998, and now totals almost 100,000.

Although the exact number of people living to 100 worldwide is debated, Japan clearly has the world’s oldest population, and this trend is likely to continue.

Read More

2025-09-14 19:48