Overview
- As of September 1, 2025, government data count 99,763 people in Japan aged 100 or older.
- The tally rose by more than 4,600 in a year, and about 88% of those aged 100-plus are women.
- Japan’s total population fell by roughly 900,000 in 2024 and by nearly 920,000 year over year into 2025, a record drop.
- Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called the demographic trajectory a “silent emergency” and pledged family-friendly steps such as free childcare and more flexible work hours.
- On the national Respect for the Aged Day, observed September 15, new centenarians receive a personal letter and a silver cup from the prime minister.