Online Reporter
TOKYO. – The number of people aged 100 or more in Japan has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, according to the health ministry.
Japan has been aging for years and sales of adult nappies have been higher than those for babies for more than a decade.
Figures show Japan is now home to 107,677 centenarians, the highest number in the world, of whom 88 percent are women.
The oldest woman is Kishimoto Fuyo, a 114-year-old from Kyoto City and the oldest man is Kato Hikaru, a 112-year-old from Kumamoto.
Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno said he was “delighted that so many people are living long, healthy and active lives”, citing progress in medicine and technology.
But Kenichiro also warned of the challenge the country faces in maintaining a sustainable social security system.
Experts put the long lives of the Japanese down to several factors, including a healthy diet and an active lifestyle.
The island nation’s cuisine predominantly consists of fish, vegetables, and rice – and less saturated fat than many Western diets.
Older people also regularly walk, use public transport, cycle and stretch.
Companies have also developed new products for the older population, including a powered exoskeleton to support moving various parts of the body and eyewear that automatically adjusts its focus.
For a population to replace itself, each woman needs to give birth to 2.1 children on average. Last year Japan’s total fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.14.
The total population is estimated to drop to 87 million by 2070, representing a 30 percentdecline from its peak of 128 million in 2008, according to data from the National Institute of Population and Social Security research.
Residents aged 65 and older currently make up around 30 percent of the population and are expected to make up nearly 40 percent by 2070.
Japanese authorities have called the trend an “existential crisis” with Prime Minister Sanae Takichi describing the decline as a “quiet emergency”.
Last year, Japan’s total population decreased in all 47 prefectures but two, and the rate of decline is accelerating.
The government’s many programmes and subsidies to encourage young people to have more children do not appear to be boosting birth rates.
Experts say the reasons are complex, ranging from lower marriage rates and more women joining the workforce to the increased costs of raising children.
While immigration has risen in previous years, foreigners only make up around 3% of the population and opposition to accepting more has grown.
When Japan began its centenarian survey in 1963, there were 153 people aged 100 or over.
That figure rose to 1,000 in 1981 and stood at 10,000 by 1998.
The most recent figures were released ahead of Japan’s annual “Respect for the Aged” public holiday, on which the government honours those turning 100 with a personal letter and traditional sake cup.
Studies have previously cast doubt on the validity of global centenarian numbers, suggesting data errors, unreliable public records and missing birth certificates may account for elevated figures.
A government audit of family registries in Japan in 2010 uncovered more than 230,000 people listed as being aged 100 or older who were unaccounted for, some having died decades previously.
The miscounting was attributed to patchy record-keeping and suspicions that some families may have tried to hide the deaths of elderly relatives in order to claim their pensions.
In the centenarian survey in 1963, there were 153 people aged 100 or over.
That figure rose to 1,000 in 1981 and stood at 10,000 by 1998.
The higher life expectancy is mainly attributed to fewer deaths from heart disease and common forms of cancer, in particular breast and prostate cancer.
Japan has low rates of obesity, a major contributing factor to both diseases, thanks to diets low in red meat and high in fish and vegetables.
The obesity rate is particularly low for women, which could go some way to explaining why Japanese women have a much higher life expectancy than their male counterparts.
As increased quantities of sugar and salt crept into diets in the rest of the world, Japan went in the other direction – with public health messaging successfully convincing people to reduce their salt consumption.
But it’s not just diet.
Japanese people tend to stay active into later life, walking and using public transport more than elderly people in the US and Europe.
Radio Taiso, a daily group exercise, has been a part of Japanese culture since 1928, established to encourage a sense of community as well as public health.
The three-minute routine is broadcast on television and practised in small community groups across the country.
But questions persist.
A national inquiry was launched after the remains of Sogen Koto, believed to be the oldest man in Tokyo at 111, were found in his family home 32 years after his death.
In January last year, a Japanese woman, recognised as the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records, died aged 116.
Tomiko Itooka died in a nursing home in the city of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, according to officials.
She became the oldest person in the world after Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera passed away in August 2024 at age 117.
Ms Itooka was born in May 1908 – six years before World War One and the same year that the Ford Model T car was launched in the US.
She was verified as the world’s oldest person in September 2024 and was presented with the official GWR certificate on the Respect for the Aged Day, which is a Japanese public holiday celebrated annually to honour the country’s elderly citizens.
Ms Itooka, who was one of three siblings, lived through world wars and pandemics as well as technological breakthroughs.
As a student, she played volleyball and climbed the 3,067-metre (10,062-foot) Mount Ontake twice.
In her older age, she enjoyed bananas and Calpis, a milky soft drink popular in Japan, according to the mayor’s statement.
She married at 20, and had two daughters and two sons, according to Guinness.
During World War Two she managed the office of her husband’s textile factory.
She lived alone in Nara after her husband died in 1979. – BBC
