{
  "id": 8882713,
  "title": "Why Japan's average height stopped growing while Korea, China surged",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/why-japans-average-height-stopped-growing-while-korea-china-surged-8882713",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-21T08:52:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20260921/why-japans-average-height-stopped-growing-while-korea-china-surged"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "Japan's average height has barely changed since the 1990s, falling behind Korea and China. Researchers and media reports point to a possible combination of factors, including nutrition, maternal nutritional status and a lack of sleep. In a report by Japanese financial daily The Nikkei on Saturday, it cited data published in the medical journal The Lancet in 2020 by the NCD Risk Factor…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Why Japan's average height stopped growing while Korea, China surged",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/why-japans-average-height-stopped-growing-while-korea-china-surged",
        "published": "2026-09-21T08:42:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}