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The story
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on September 15 that the number of people aged 100 or older nationwide has reached 107,677 (up 7,914 from the previous year), topping 100,000 for the first time since record-keeping began in 1963. It’s the 56th consecutive year the figure has hit a new high, with women making up nearly 90 percent of the total. The announcement is an annual fixture ahead of Respect for the Aged Day, but reactions on 5ch split between posters celebrating the longevity trend and others worried about the growing strain on pensions and healthcare costs. Some commenters noted that people born in the Edo period were still alive into the 1960s, while others brought up the once-famous centenarian twins “Kin-san and Gin-san.”
It was learned on the 15th that the number of people aged 100 or older nationwide stood at 107,677 as of the first of this month (up 7,914 from the previous year) — the first time the figure has topped 100,000 since the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare began compiling the data. It marked the 56th straight year the record has been broken. Women accounted for 94,298, or nearly 90 percent of the total, while men numbered 13,379.
The ministry compiles these figures every year ahead of Respect for the Aged Day (the 21st). The number of centenarians has kept climbing, driven by advances in medical care and rising health awareness. There were just 153 in 1963, when record-keeping began, but the figure passed 50,000 in 2012 and has continued to grow since.
According to the ministry, the oldest person in the country is Fuyo Kishimoto, 114, of Kyoto, who reportedly looks forward to meals with fellow residents at her care facility and finishes every dish served to her. The oldest man is Hikaru Kato, 112, of Kumamoto, who stays healthy with exercise sessions at his nursing home.
Source: yomiuri.co.jp / Read the original article
What people said
kind of a letdown, honestly
the real problem is the low birth rate
Aren't we being way too soft on the baby boomers?
The wartime generation just died pretty quickly once they couldn't move anymore
What country is stuck frozen in wartime times these days?
Even China has set targets to raise its citizens' average lifespan, you moron
it's basically half abuse at this point
well, it's already like this really
The proportion of elderly people gets insane
(Even now Japan effectively has the highest aging rate in the world)
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For old folks living off their pensions, rising prices are a life-or-death issue they won't tolerate
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Since their voices can't be ignored given their sheer numbers,
Japanese companies keep clamping down on labor costs —
in other words, keep wages suppressed to keep prices low
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The result: a society where wages for the working generation never really rise, forever
If you're the one saying it, it definitely won't turn out that way
Guess people born in the Edo period were still around in the '60s
If you count the Edo period as ending in 1863, the last Edo-born person died in 1976
don't even get the basic economic logic that raising wages raises labor costs, which then pushes up prices
That's why they get furious over a 10-yen price hike
while in the same breath wondering why wages never go up —
it's completely backwards
Sounds like you think if you repeat a lie a hundred times, everyone will just believe it
we're probably eating stuff that's bad for us every single day, so I doubt we'll even make it to 90
Today's elderly are the ones who grew up eating pesticide-laden food through heavy air and water pollution, so who knows
That was after the postwar economic boom, so wouldn't that make them around 60 now?
Today's 100-year-olds were eating plenty of that stuff too, back in their day
That's exactly why the public safety over there is bad
I'm all for euthanasia
Guys who say stuff like this are usually elderly themselves
he can stand up on his own and feed himself
Wait, he's over 100?
That's amazing
On weekends the biggest group here is around 40, but on weekday afternoons it's mostly NEETs in their 20s
still plenty young
no wonder the social insurance burden gets absurd
Even back then there were already more than 4,000 of them
Went to a bookstore recently and this caught me completely off guard
we're living in a world where 70 counts as young now
I don't think 70 gets treated as "young," exactly, but since they say we're entering the era of the 100-year life,
starting something new at 70 seems totally fine to me
It really is an aging society, huh…
Background and Key Points of This Topic
This announcement is compiled annually by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare under the Act on Social Welfare for the Elderly, ahead of Respect for the Aged Day each September. The figure has climbed steadily since record-keeping began in 1963 with just 153 people, passing 50,000 in 2012 and now topping 100,000 in 2026. The nearly 90 percent share of women reflects the gap in average life expectancy between the sexes, and there are reported cases — like the two oldest, Kishimoto (114) and Kato (112) — of centenarians living independently at care facilities. Opinions on the thread were split between those who see longer lifespans as a positive and those who link it to worries about rising pension and healthcare costs and stagnant wages for the working generation, with no clear consensus reached. It’s also worth noting that the official “100 and older” count is based purely on resident registry records and says nothing about care needs or actual independence — an easy detail to overlook if you only glance at the headline number.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Japan’s Centenarian Population Finally Tops 100,000 wwwwwwwwwwwwwww (“w” = Japanese internet laughter, like “lol”).”
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