Overview
- The Ministry of Health and Welfare published the figures on Tuesday for Respect for the Aged Day, reporting 107,677 people aged 100 or older, an increase of 7,914 from the prior year.
- Women make up about 88 percent of the centenarian count, and the oldest recorded living people are Fuyo Kishimoto, 114, and Hikaru Kato, 112.
- Health officials credited medical advances, regular checkups, diet and active daily routines for longer lives while warning that longer lifespans strain social-security and health-care budgets.
- The milestone sharpens policy choices as Japan also faces a record-low fertility rate of 1.14 in 2025, raising concerns about shrinking workforces and elder-care staffing.
- Centenarian totals have climbed steadily since 1963 when 153 were recorded, and officials project long-term population decline to roughly 87 million by 2070 with a much larger share over 65.