Japan’s centenarian population has reached a new peak of 99,763, according to figures released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare ahead of Respect for the Aged Day on Monday.
The total, drawn from Japan’s resident registry as of 1 September, is up by 4,644 on the year and marks the 55th consecutive annual record. Women account for 87,784 of the total—about 88%—reflecting Japan’s pronounced female longevity advantage.
That national headline rate now equates to 80.58 people aged 100 or over for every 100,000 residents. The distribution is uneven. Shimane Prefecture has the highest concentration, at 168.69 per 100,000, followed by Kochi (157.16) and Tottori (144.63). At the other end, Saitama has the lowest ratio at 48.50 per 100,000. Shimane has led the country by this measure for 13 straight years, while Saitama has been last for 36.
The record cohort includes Japan’s oldest living person, Shigeko Kagawa, 114, of Yamatokoriyama in Nara Prefecture. A retired obstetrician-gynaecologist, she continued practising into her eighties. Japan’s oldest man is Kiyotaka Mizuno, 111, of Iwata in Shizuoka Prefecture. Both cases have been noted by longevity researchers and confirmed in recent ministry updates.
Japan’s centenarian register has expanded steadily since record-keeping began in 1963, when only 153 people were listed. The tally surpassed 1,000 in 1981, 10,000 in 1998, 50,000 in 2012 and 90,000 in 2022. The present figure therefore represents a near-doubling in just over a decade, aligned with continued gains in life expectancy and improved survival at advanced ages.
The demographic backdrop is moving in the opposite direction. Provisional data for 2024 show the total fertility rate fell to 1.15, the lowest since comparable records began in 1947 and well below the level required for population replacement. Births fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, at 686,061, while deaths reached 1,605,298. The resulting natural population decrease—births minus deaths—was 919,237, the steepest drop in the data series and the 17th straight year of natural decline.
Looking at stock and flow, the total number of Japanese nationals living in Japan stood at 120.65 million on 1 January 2025, down 908,574 on the year. By contrast, the number of foreign residents has risen to its highest level since the current series began, partly offsetting the overall fall in headcount but not reversing it.
The combination of increased longevity and fewer births is re-shaping the social and economic landscape. A larger cohort of very old residents raises demand for long-term care, home-help services and age-friendly infrastructure, while sustained natural decrease tightens labour supply in many regions. Prefectures with high concentrations of centenarians—Shimane, Kochi and Tottori—are rural and less densely populated, with out-migration of younger workers compounding ageing dynamics already present in their age structures. Urban prefectures with lower centenarian ratios, such as Saitama, have younger age profiles and larger working-age populations, but still face steady ageing and falling fertility.
Public policy has adjusted incrementally. Central and local authorities have expanded childcare subsidies, parental leave entitlements and support for fertility treatment in an effort to ease barriers to family formation. In health and social care, measures have focused on community-based integrated care, prevention programmes and productivity gains in care delivery, including the use of assistive technologies. The centenarian figures indicate that survival at advanced ages continues to improve; the fertility and birth data indicate that the inflow to younger cohorts remains weak. Together, the trends point to continued upward pressure on pension, health and social-care budgets and to a persistent need for productivity growth and labour-market participation among women and older workers.
Japan’s experience is closely watched by other ageing societies. However, the regional patterning within the country—distinct differences between rural prefectures with high old-age shares and major population centres with relatively lower centenarian rates—suggests that local labour markets, housing conditions and social support networks remain critical determinants of how demographic change is felt on the ground.
Respect for the Aged Day, instituted nationally in 1966 and observed since 2003 on the third Monday of September, falls this year on 15 September. The latest health ministry release, timed in advance of the holiday, highlights not a one-off anomaly but a half-century-long run of rising centenarian numbers. With fertility still falling and life expectancy high, the centenarian milestone of 100,000—once unimaginable when the register began—now appears imminent.
