AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Japan tops 100,000 centenarians — while its birth rate hits a record low
Japan now counts more than 107,000 residents aged 100 or older, a milestone that doubles as a warning sign for a nation whose fertility rate has fallen to its lowest level on record. The country's Health and Welfare Ministry released figures Tuesday showing 107,677 centenarians living in Japan, up 7,914 from the previous year and […] The post Japan tops 100,000 centenarians — while its birth rate hits a record low appeared first on American Almanac .
Japan now counts more than 107,000 residents aged 100 or older, a milestone that doubles as a warning sign for a nation whose fertility rate has fallen to its lowest level on record. The country's Health and Welfare Ministry released figures Tuesday showing 107,677 centenarians living in Japan, up 7,914 from the previous year and past the 100,000 mark for the first time. The announcement, timed to Japan's Sept. 15 Respect the Aged Day, drew praise from Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno, and an immediate pivot to the demographic crisis those numbers help illustrate. Nearly 88 percent of the centenarians are women. The oldest Japanese woman, 114-year-old Fuyo Kishimoto of Kyoto, was recently recognized for the distinction. Japan's oldest man,…Open