Overview

• The health ministry counted 99,763 people aged 100 or older, up 4,644 from last year and marking the 55th consecutive annual high.
• Women account for about 88% of centenarians—87,784 women versus 11,979 men—continuing a long-standing gender imbalance in longevity.
• The internal affairs ministry estimates 36.19 million people are 65 or older, lifting the elderly share to a record 29.4%, the highest among countries with populations over 40 million.
• Elderly employment rose for the 21st straight year to a record 9.3 million in 2024, roughly one in seven workers, with many in part-time or contract roles.
• Japan’s demographic squeeze persists, with 687,689 births and about 1.6 million deaths in 2024, pulling the population to roughly 120 million as the new figures are released ahead of Respect for the Aged Day.