- The number of people aged 100 or older is expected to total 61,568 as of Tuesday, up 2,748 from a year before, the ministry said in a report released ahead of Respect for the Aged Day, which falls on Sept. 21 this year.
When the ministry started compiling the statistics in 1963, the nation only had 153 centenarians. The number exceeded 10,000 in 1998, 30,000 in 2007, and 50,000 in 2012, as the aging of the country’s population progressed.
While there is a lot said about the reasons of Japan's ageing society, seeing the growth rate of centenarians in just the last 17 years puts it in a perspective where it becomes easier to see the enormous difficulties an ageing society can put on a country. Perhaps it is something to consider in immigration debates, as the child rate of Japan is not much lower than the child rate among natives in many countries in Western Europe.
You know, I got into a great conversation with betsujin the other month about Japan's economy in general. Sadly, he doesn't seem to be an active member. Hopefully he sees this shout out and give his two cents, as he seems to know quite a bit about Japan and how it operates as a nation. Maybe he could give some insight as to how their health care system contributes to the longevity of so many people.