The number of centenarians in Japan has reached a record high for the 54th consecutive year, according to the health ministry. As of Sunday, there were 95,119 individuals aged 100 or older in the country. This figure represents an increase of 2,980 from the previous year. Of these centenarians, women accounted for approximately 88% with a total of 83,958.
Japan’s data on centenarians dates back to 1963 when there were only 153 individuals aged over one hundred years old. Since then, this number has steadily increased and surpassed significant milestones such as reaching over a thousand in 1981 and exceeding ten thousand in 1998. In more recent years, Japan saw its centenarian population surpass fifty thousand in 2012 and ninety thousand in 2022.
When considering the number of centenarians per one hundred thousand people, Shimane prefecture had the highest rate at approximately159.54. This marks the twelfth consecutive year that Shimane has topped this ranking among Japan’s forty-seven prefectures. Following closely behind are Kochi with a rate of154.20 and Kagoshima with130.73.
On the other hand, Saitama had the lowest rate at45.81 per one hundred thousand people followed by Aichi at48.80 and Chiba at52.60.
The oldest woman in Japan is Tomiko Itooka from Ashiya city in Hyogo Prefecture who is116 years old while Kiyotaka Mizuno from Iwata city in Shizuoka Prefecture holds the title for oldest man at110 years old.
Looking ahead to fiscal year2024 through March next year, there are47,888 individuals expected to turn100 years old during this period.These individuals will receive congratulatory letters along with silver cups as gifts.
