Japan's Centenarian Population Hits Record High as Women Make Up 88 Percent

The number of people aged 100 and over in Japan has risen beyond record levels, with women making up the clear majority of them, according to the country's data. Japan now has 107,677 people aged 100 or above, and 88 per cent of them — 94,298 people — are women. The figures show how Japan's centenarian population has grown steadily over the decades. In 1963 the country recorded only 153 people aged 100 and over. That number passed 1,000 in 1981, and by 1998 it had risen above 10,000. People aged 65 and over account for 30 per cent of Japan's population, the data shows.