Japan’s Centenarians Reach a Record 92,000

As of September 1, 2023, there were 92,139 centenarians in Japan, an increase of 1,613 from the previous year, according to resident registration data. This is the fifty-third annual rise in people aged 100 or over. Japan is well-known for its long life expectancy and women account for the majority of centenarians with a ratio of 88.5%.

Japan’s oldest woman is 116-year-old Tatsumi Fusa, who lives in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture. The oldest man in Japan is Sonobe Gisaburō, aged 111 and living in Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture.

In 1963, when the government enacted the Act on Social Welfare for the Elderly, there were 153 Japanese centenarians nationwide. That figure passed the 1,000 mark in 1981, topped 10,000 in 1998, and since then has continued to rise steadily.

The prefecture with the highest ratio of centenarians per 100,000 population was Shimane at 155.2, which was almost 3.5 times as many as that of the lowest, Saitama with 44.8. Western Japan tends to have higher ratios than the east of the country, and there are particularly low figures in the Kantō region, centered on Tokyo, and other urban areas.

Centenarians Per 100,000 Population in Japanese Prefectures

Created by Nippon.com based on data published by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner Photo © Pixta.)