Overview
- Japan’s Health Ministry reports 107,677 people aged 100 or older, an increase of 7,914 from the previous year.
- About 88 percent of those centenarians are women, reflecting a persistent life-expectancy gap between sexes.
- The ministry says the count of centenarians has risen every year since the statistic began in 1963.
- Japan’s total population has fallen below 120 million to roughly 119.7 million, with a one-year drop of about 917,000 people, reducing the worker base that funds pensions and care.
- Rising numbers of very old people combined with low birthrates and limited immigration are increasing social-security costs and will pressure officials to consider changes to pensions, health funding, or immigration policy.