Overview
- Japan's health ministry reported Tuesday that 107,677 people are now aged 100 or older, up about 8,000 from last year and the largest national total in the world.
- About 88 percent of those centenarians are women and the oldest named individuals include Fuyo Kishimoto, 114, and Hikaru Kato, 112.
- Officials say the surge increases pressure on pensions and medical spending, and the health ministry has warned the trend will further strain the country's social security finances.
- To ease shortages in elder care staff the government is expanding foreign recruitment and plans to widen visa channels after recent skilled-worker intake reached roughly 66,000.
- Longer-term context and risks include a 2010 audit that found more than 230,000 registry discrepancies, a record-low fertility rate of 1.14, and projections that Japan's population could fall to about 87 million by 2070.