Dear MEL Topic Readers,
More than 100,000 people in Japan are now aged 100 or older
Each year on the third Monday of September, Japan commemorates Respect for
the Aged Day to honor elderly citizens and celebrate longevity, and announces
the number of people aged 100 or older. The first centenarian survey found
there were 153 centenarians in 1963, and
the figure increased to 1,000 in 1981 and 10,000 by 1998. This year, the
fast-aging nation recorded over 100,000 people whose ages are 100 or older for
the first time, up almost 8,000 from the previous year. About 88% of them are
women, as their average life expectancy is over 88, ranking among the highest
globally, while that of men is about 82. The country’s longevity is attributed to
wholesome diets and a well-covered healthcare system. However, Japan’s
population is aging and shrinking rapidly. Last year, only 671,000 babies were
born, while 1,589,000 died, losing 918,000 people. With the total fertility rate
below 1.2, the population will decline from the current 123 million to fewer
than 100 million by 2050, nearly 40% of whom will be aged 65 or older. How many
centenarians will there be then? Who will care for them then, their also-aged
children, foreign care workers, or AI-empowered humanoids?
Read the article and learn about Japan’s century-old population.
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