Why Japan's average height stopped growing while Korea, China surged

Japan's average height has remained static since the 1990s, trailing behind Korea and China in height. Researchers and media outlets suggest a combination of factors like nutrition, maternal nutrition, and insufficient sleep may be responsible. A report by Japan's financial daily, The Nikkei, referenced data from The Lancet medical journal in 2020 via the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC).

The report reveals that China and Korea's average height among 5- to 19-year-olds has surged the fastest in the past 35 years, while Japan's height has remained unchanged. In 2019, the average height of a Japanese male aged 19 was 172.1 centimeters, and females stood at 158.5 centimeters. This places Japanese 19-year-olds approximately 3 to 5 centimeters shorter than their Korean and Chinese peers, who averaged 175.5 and 163.2 centimeters for males and females respectively. In 1985, Japan was the tallest among the three countries.