Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Japan Has More Centenarians Than Ever Before, and the Numbers Are Staggering

New government data show 107,677 Japanese residents are at least 100 years old, with women accounting for 88% of the total.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

By now, it’s well publicized that Japan has a bit of an age discrepancy. The population is aging, and it isn’t getting steadily replaced by an influx of babies. Japan’s population is so old, in fact, that the nation now holds the half-impressive, half-dubious distinction of having more than 100,000 centenarians alive at the same time. That is more at once than at any point in its history.

New health ministry data show a record 107,677 people aged 100 or older currently barely clinging to life across Japan, with nearly 8,000 of them crossing the century threshold in the past year.

The secret to living a relatively........

© Vice