Something that the ‘Weird Facts’ team pointed out in a recent post is the huge number of centenarians living in Japan.
The country has long been known for the longevity of its people due to a wide range of factors, from eating a healthy diet and leading an active lifestyle to being incredibly social in one’s local community.
As reported by the Japan Times in late 2024, the number of centenarians in Japan stood at over 95,000, according to the data from the health ministry.
This is a record high for the 54th year in a row. Back in 1963, when Japan began recording statistics, the country had barely 153 people aged 100 and over.
By 1981, the number of Japanese centenarians had already reached 1,000. It jumped to 10,000 in 1998. By 2012, this number stood at a jaw-dropping 50,000. It climbed over 90,000 in 2022.
Now, there are an average of 76.49 centenarians for every 100,000 people living in Japan. The areas with the highest number of elderly people living to be over 100 were Shimane, followed by Kochi, and Kagoshima.
Meanwhile, the lowest numbers lived in Saitama, Aichi, and Chiba. The Japan Times notes that the number of people turning 100 during the fiscal year 2024, running through to March 2025, stands at 47,888.
These individuals are given a congratulatory letter, as well as a silver cup to mark this momentous occasion.
Nippon states that there were 95,119 centenarians living in Japan as of September 1, 2024, an increase of 2,980 compared to the year before.
The vast majority of Japanese living to the age of 100 or more are women. They account for 88.3% of all centenarians, with men making up just 11.7% of the total.
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