Japan continues to grapple with a shrinking overall population. But there’s one age group that keeps growing: those living well past 100.
According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, the number of Japanese residents aged 100 or older has surpassed 100,000 people for the first time.
The Ministry reports that Japan now has 107,677 people aged 100 and above, according to The Independent UK, reported Friday, September 18, 2026.
A Record That Keeps Climbing
This figure represents an increase of nearly 8,000 people compared to the previous year. Japan now holds the title of the country with the largest centenarian population in the world.
According to government records, this number has increased every single year since the Ministry began tracking it 56 years ago.
Notably, 88% of this age group, around 94,298 people, are women. Fuyo Kishimoto, a 114-year-old woman from Kyoto, is recorded as Japan’s oldest living woman, while Hikaru Kato, a 112-year-old man from Kumamoto, holds the title for men.
“I’m truly delighted to see so many people remaining active and healthy for such a long time,” said Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno.
Minister Ueno added that this trend reflects genuine progress in medicine and technology.
Why Japan’s Life Expectancy Leads the World
Japan consistently ranks among the top countries globally for life expectancy, according to World Bank data. Average life expectancy in Japan reached 84 years in 2024, compared to 79 years in the United States.
When Japan first began surveying its centenarian population back in 1963, the count stood at just 153 people. That number surpassed 1,000 in 1981, and crossed 10,000 in 1998.
Timed Around Japan’s “Respect for the Aged Day”
This latest data was released ahead of Japan’s national “Respect for the Aged Day” holiday, during which the government sends personal letters and traditional sake cups to citizens turning 100 that year.
A Growing Elderly Population Amid an Overall Population Decline
The rise in Japan’s centenarian population comes even as the country’s overall population continues to shrink. According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan’s current population of roughly 123 million is projected to fall to 87 million by 2070, a 30% decline from its peak of 128 million in 2008.
Japan’s fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.14 last year, well below the 2.1 rate needed for a population to naturally sustain itself.
Residents aged 65 and older currently make up about 30% of Japan’s total population, a proportion expected to approach 40% by 2070.
In 2025, Japan recorded population declines in 45 of its 47 prefectures, with the rate of decline continuing to accelerate.
A “Silent Emergency”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has described this demographic decline as a “silent emergency.”
Various government subsidies and programs aimed at encouraging people to have more children have so far failed to boost the birth rate. Experts point to a combination of factors driving this crisis, including declining marriage rates, growing female workforce participation, and rising costs of raising children.
Japan’s simultaneous record-high centenarian population and accelerating overall population decline paint a striking picture of a society aging in two very different directions at once, living longer than almost anywhere else in the world, while struggling to replace itself generationally. How the government balances supporting an increasingly elderly population against reversing its declining birth rate will likely remain one of Japan’s defining policy challenges for decades to come.
