Japan has crossed a historic population milestone, with the number of people aged 100 and above exceeding 100,000 for the first time.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said the country had 107,677 centenarians as of September 1, 2026. The figure increased by 7,914 from the previous year and marked the 56th consecutive annual rise. Japan had only 153 people aged 100 or older when the government began keeping these records in 1963.
Women account for most of the country’s centenarians. There are 94,298 women and 13,379 men aged 100 or above, meaning women make up about 87.6 percent of the total.
Japanese Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno linked longer lives to improvements in living conditions, nutrition and medical technology. Long-term factors such as diet and active lifestyles are also often associated with the country’s high life expectancy.
However, the milestone also highlights Japan’s ageing population challenge. Official statistics show that people aged 65 and above made up 29.3 percent of the population in 2024, putting growing pressure on pensions, healthcare and other social security services.
