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The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry reported that the centenarian total stood at 107,677 as of September 1, an increase of 7,914 from the previous year that pushed the population over the six-figure threshold for the first time since records began. Women accounted for 87.6 percent of the group with 94,298 individuals, while the remaining 13,379 were men, the ministry’s data based on basic resident registers showed. The figures come as Japan prepares to honor new centenarians with congratulatory letters and silver cups from the prime minister on Elderly Day, with 54,294 people set to reach the milestone in the current fiscal year.
Japan’s centenarian count has risen without interruption since 1970, when the total stood at 310, according to the ministry’s historical records. The population first exceeded 1,000 in 1981, passed 10,000 in 1998, hit 50,000 in 2012 and crossed 90,000 in 2022 before this year’s breakthrough, the ministry’s long-term data indicated. A United Nations estimate places the global centenarian population at around 672,000, with Japan accounting for the largest share by a wide margin.
Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno welcomed the milestone at a news conference, stating that he was pleased so many people have remained active for a long time. The minister added that it was significant many individuals with extended health spans continue supporting society, according to remarks carried by multiple outlets including The Japan Times and Kyodo News. The ministry attributed the sustained growth to advances in medical technology, public health improvements and lifestyle factors.
Fuyo Kishimoto, a 114-year-old resident of Kyoto born in 1911, is Japan’s oldest living person, the ministry said, having taken the title after the death of a 115-year-old woman in August. Hikaru Kato, who turned 112 in May and lives in Kumamoto, ranks as the oldest man, according to the same data. These supercentenarians reflect the upper end of a demographic trend that has seen average life expectancy reach 87.33 years for women and 81.35 years for men in 2025, World Bank figures show.
The ministry’s breakdown by prefecture found that Shimane maintained the highest ratio of centenarians at 186.65 per 100,000 residents for the 14th year running, followed by Kochi at 169.52 and Tottori at 152.48. In contrast, Saitama recorded the lowest concentration with 51.27 per 100,000 people, with Aichi and Osaka also below the national average of 87.51, the ministry’s assessment found. Such regional differences highlight varying local conditions that influence longevity across the country.
The landmark total underscores Japan’s position as a global leader in lifespan, driven by healthier diets, active lifestyles and superior medical care, a Bloomberg analysis concluded. Yet the rapid expansion of the oldest age groups is intensifying fiscal pressures on the world’s fourth-largest economy through higher elderly care expenditures and a contracting labor force, according to assessments from CNN and The Straits Times. Japan’s overall population fell below 120 million at the start of the year for the first time in more than four decades, government reports confirm.
Separate research has connected the pronounced longevity among Japanese women, who form the bulk of centenarians, to lower historical rates of smoking, heavy drinking and workplace accidents, a pattern noted in United Nations demographic reviews. The government has set targets to extend healthy lifespans further by 2040, building on current levels that already exceed those in many developed nations, the ministry has indicated in policy documents. This year’s data release coincides with ongoing debates about sustaining social welfare systems under the weight of demographic change.
