Japan’s Centenarian Population Tops 100,000 for First Time
Longevity leader Japan reports that its population of people aged 100 or over has now risen above 100,000.
Japan has surpassed a significant milestone, with more than 100,000 residents reaching the age of 100. The total number of centenarians rose to 107,677 as of September 1, 2026, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. This is the highest count since the government began collecting statistics in 1963, and the figure has increased for 56 consecutive years.
Women make up the majority of Japan's centenarians, accounting for 87.6% of the total at 94,298 individuals. The oldest woman in Japan is 114-year-old Kishimoto Fuyo, who resides in Kyoto and is the last living native of the Meiji period (1868–1912). The oldest man in the country is 112-year-old Kato Hikaru, living in Kumamoto.
The trend of centenarians began in 1963 when the government passed the Act on Social Welfare for the Elderly. In that year, there were only 153 centenarians nationwide. The figure grew to 1,000 in 1981 and 10,000 in 1998, and it has continued to rise steadily since then. Shimane prefecture currently has the highest ratio of centenarians per 100,000 people at 186.7, more than three times the rate of Saitama prefecture, which has the lowest at 51.3.
Western Japan generally has higher ratios than the eastern regions, with the Kantō area, including Tokyo, experiencing particularly low figures.
Written by urgent.news from Nippon.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
