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Japan’s centenarian population has reached a record high as the country continues to maintain the world’s longest life expectancy – a milestone officials credit to healthy lifestyles and fewer fatal diseases.
The East Asian nation, for the 55th year in a row, has set a new record as its population of citizens aged 100 or older soared to a staggering 99,763 — up 4,644 from the previous year, according to the government’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the BBC reported.
Women make up a striking 87,784 of the total – or 88% – compared with 11,979 men.
The country’s oldest living person is Shigeko Kagawa, a 114-year-old retired physician from Nara Prefecture, who ran her family’s clinic as an obstetrician and gynecologist until retiring at 86.
Kagawa – a symbol of Japan’s exceptional lifespan – achieved a remarkable feat in 2021 when she became one of the oldest torchbearers in Olympic history at age 109 during the Tokyo Games.
The oldest man is 111-year-old Kiyotaka Mizuno, said officials, who released the unprecedented figures ahead of Monday’s Elderly Day celebration in Japan.
Japan’s long life streak is fueled by low rates of heart disease and cancer – especially breast and prostate – caused by diets heavy in fish and vegetables and limited red meat and salt, the outlet reported.
Experts also attribute the jaw-dropping longevity to elders staying active well into old age – walking, taking public transit, exercise, and Radio Taiso, a three-minute workout broadcast on television daily.
The government began tracking people aged 100 or older in 1963, when there were just 153 centenarians.
But while some Japanese citizens are living longer, the country recorded nearly 1 million more deaths than births in 2024 – its steepest single-year population decline since government surveys began nearly six decades ago.
The population – which peaked at around 126.6 million in 2009 – has been declining steadily ever since, according to data published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications last month.
Last year, Japan set two records – a historic low in births and a record high in deaths.
Just 687,689 births were recorded in 2024, the lowest since the government first started keeping track in 1968. On the other end, a whopping 1.6 million people died, bringing the total population to 120 million, according to the data.
The ever-growing natality crisis pushed the Japanese government to promote family-oriented policies, including free childcare, expanded access to healthcare and shorter work weeks to in part help free up time for procreation.
