Tokyo, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)–The number of people aged 100 or over in Japan stood at 107,677 as of Sept. 1, topping 100,000 for the first time since statistics began in 1963, the health ministry said Tuesday. The centenarian population hit a record high for the 56th consecutive year. According to data based on the basic resident register, this year’s figure was up by 7,914 from the previous year. Female centenarians came to 94,298, accounting for nearly 90 pct of the total. “I’m pleased that so many people have been active for a long time,” health minister Kenichiro Ueno said at a press conference Tuesday, adding, “It is also significant that many people, with a longer health span, are supporting society.” The number of people who are 100 or older per population of 100,000 stood at 87.51. By prefecture, Shimane logged 186.65, marking the highest figure for the 14th consecutive year, followed by Kochi’s 169.52 and Tottori’s 152.48. Saitama posted the lowest figure of 51.27, followed by Aichi, with 57.79, and Osaka, with 60.06. The oldest woman in the country is Fuyo Kishimoto, 114, a resident of the western city of Kyoto, who was born in 1911. Hikaru Kato, 112, a resident of the southwestern city of Kumamoto, who was born in 1914, is the oldest man. This fiscal year, 54,294 people have turned or will turn 100. The centenarian population, which stood at 153 in 1963, exceeded 1,000 in 1981, 10,000 in 1998, 50,000 in 2012 and 90,000 in 2022. Many centenarians are actively engaging in and making contributions to local communities. Toichi Tamai, who lives in the city of Nakatsu, Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, started making handicrafts around the age of 50 and presents them to people who turn 100 through the city government. “I live to make everyone happy,” said Tamai, who reached the age of 100 in June. Tamai was born in 1926 in the central prefecture of Nagano, according to his son, Nobuyuki, 70. Tamai moved to Nakatsu at age 25 and started dairy farming in the city. Tamai handed over the family business to Nobuyuki about 50 years ago and then began to do things that help people around him and others, according to the son. “To enjoy working every day and spend time with a kind heart” is the secret of long life, Tamai, who now lives at a facility for elderly people, said. “I want to continue to live a joyful life,” he said, adding, “I would like young people to make much of the spirit of helping each other.” Kokichi Akuzawa, a 103-year-old resident of Maebashi, the capital of Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, continues enjoying mountain climbing. Climbing Mount Fuji at 102, he is recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest person to reach the top of the tallest mountain in Japan. He has climbed the mountain straddling the central prefectures of Shizuoka and Yamanashi more than 10 times. In January last year, Akuzawa was hospitalized for about three weeks after falling on a mountain. He also suffered from heart failure at the time but did not give up. The centenarian climbed Mount Fuji in August the same year, on the back of encouragements from his family and mountaineering buddies, setting the Guinness record. A family member said that Akuzawa remains healthy as he “exercises a lot and talks a lot and people around him cheer him up.” His activities also include teaching painting at home and volunteering at a day care facility. Akuzawa is a role model for users of the facility, many of whom are younger than he is, according to his family. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
