TOKYO — The number of people in Japan aged 100 or older has surpassed 100,000 for the first time, reaching a record 107,677 this year and marking the 56th consecutive year of increase.
The total rose by 7,914 from last year.
Women account for 94,298 of the centenarian population, while men account for 13,379.
Record levels now sit on the total, on the men, and on the women. Male centenarians increased by 1,400 from last year. Women rose by 6,514.
Highest of the 47 prefectures: Shimane, 186.65 people aged 100 or older per 100,000 residents. Kochi next at 169.52. Tottori at 152.48. Japan’s rate was 87.51 per 100,000.
Shimane has ranked first for 14 consecutive years. Saitama had the lowest rate at 51.27, followed by Aichi at 57.79 and Osaka at 60.06.
Shigeko Kagawa, 115, of Yamatokoriyama, Nara, died Aug. 27. That made Fuyo Kishimoto of Kyoto, 114, Japan’s oldest person that day. She was born Dec. 20, 1911.
Hikaru Kato of Kumamoto City has held the title of Japan’s oldest man since Feb. 8.
A Kyoto facility houses Kishimoto with support from staff. Kato lives in a Kumamoto City facility, still handles some of his daily routine independently and exercises in his room, with family visits twice a week.
“I am very pleased that many people have been active for a long time. Increasing healthy life expectancy is also socially significant because it means more people can support society, including the social security system,” Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno said.
Ueno pointed to improvements in living conditions, diet and nutritional status, and advances in medical technology as factors in the increase in the number of people reaching 100.
Japan had 153 people aged 100 or older in 1963. It surpassed 1,000 in 1981, reached 10,000 in 1998 and exceeded 50,000 in 2012. It stood at 99,763 last year before crossing the 100,000 mark this year.
The number of people receiving this year’s official centenarian recognition is 54,294, up 1,984 from last year. They include 8,525 men and 45,769 women. The recipients are people who reached or are expected to reach 100 during the fiscal year and were alive on Sept. 15..
Prefectures, designated cities, and core cities reported the 107,677 figure from the Basic Resident Register as of Sept. 1. Those count takes ages as of Sept. 15. The national total leaves out Japanese nationals living overseas.
The ministry’s annual centenarian recognition began in 1963. Sept. 15 is designated as “Elderly Day” under Japan’s Elderly Welfare Law, and the recognition program marks the longevity of people reaching 100 while expressing appreciation for their contributions to society.
“As population aging progresses, it is extremely important to make the social security system sustainable, and it is important that people of all generations, including the working-age population, can accept the way benefits and burdens are shared,” Ueno said.
“We will continue our efforts to build an all-generation social security system so that necessary services can be properly provided to those who need them in the future,” he added.
Separate studies of Japanese centenarians have examined physical independence, daily function and factors associated with healthy aging.
Among 1,907 Japanese centenarians in a nationwide study, 10.4% met the study’s definition of autonomy: retained daily-living abilities, together with cognitive and psychosocial function.
Regular exercise, preserved chewing ability, and more frequent protein intake were among the factors associated with that autonomy.
The Tokyo Centenarian Study found that about 20% of centenarians still functioned independently—physically and cognitively—at 100. Those who kept that physical independence at 100 were more likely to live past 105 and, in some cases, past 110.
The Okinawa Centenarian Study, which began in 1975, had examined more than 1,000 centenarians by 2015, with researchers studying demographic, physical and genetic characteristics among people reaching extreme old age.
