| ■ Japan Has 36,000 Centenarians | 2008.09.16 |
| The number of Japanese living past 100 has more than doubled over the past six years to a record high of 36,000 this year, the country's Health and Welfare Ministry said in an annual report released Friday. By the end of this month, there will be 36,276 people aged 100 and older in Japan and 86 percent of them will be female, the Associated Press reported. Life expectancy in Japan is almost 86 years for women and 79 years for men, among the highest in the world. The highest concentration of centenarians in Japan is in Okinawa, with 838 centenarians, or 61 for every 100,000 people., while the national average is just over 28 per 100,000. There are about 10 centenarians per 100,000 people in the United States. The number of centenarians in Japan has been increasing for nearly 40 years and is expected to reach nearly 1 million -- the most in the world -- by 2050, according to United Nations' projections, the AP reported. |