Number of centenarians climbs to record 95K in Japan

By Tayyaba Nisar Khan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Japanese aged 100 and above has increased for 54 consecutive years to a record high.

The Health Ministry released the Respect for Aged Day national holiday data, saying that the number of centenarians climbed by 2,980 compared to last year, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported on Tuesday.

Women accounted for 83,958, or 88.3% of the 95,000 centenarians, while men totaled 11,161.

Japan has one of the oldest populations in the world.

The ministry also released data showing that Japan’s total elderly population, aged 65 and above, was recorded at 36.25M last year, with 25.2% employed.

Tomiko Itooka, a 116-year-old Japanese woman, was recognized as the world's oldest person by the Guinness World Records last month, while 110-year-old Kiyotaka Mizuno is the oldest man in Japan.

The population in Japan decreased from 122.42 million in 2022 to 121.56 million in 2023, said the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in July.

This marked the 15th consecutive year of decline and the largest drop since the survey began in 1968.