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5d ago

Japan's Centenarian Population Tops 100,000 for First Time

The Health Ministry reported the milestone and warned the rise will raise pension and medical spending, increasing demand for long-term care workers.

Elderly shoppers walking through the Tsurumibashi "shotengai", an old covered shopping street in the Nishinari ward of Osaka, Japan, on October 1, 2025.
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An elderly woman being pushed through the Tsurumibashi "shotengai", an old covered shopping street in the Nishinari ward of Osaka, Japan, on October 1, 2025.
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Overview

  • The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry’s Sept. 15 release showed 107,677 people in Japan were aged 100 or older, an increase of 7,914 from the prior year.
  • Women make up about 87.6–88% of the centenarian cohort, with 94,298 women recorded by the ministry.
  • The ministry said 54,294 more people are expected to turn 100 within fiscal 2026, enlarging the cohort that will require pensions and medical care.
  • Officials are responding with budget requests for pensions and healthcare and plans to recruit more long-term care workers, including expanded foreign-worker programs to fill staffing shortfalls.
  • The rise continues a decades-long trend that began with 153 centenarians in 1963 and highlights broader pressures from low birth rates and a shrinking workforce on Japan’s social-welfare system.