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Japan is now home to more than 100,000 people aged 100 or over

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Goodman, R. (2026, September 16). Japan is now home to more than 100,000 people aged 100 or over. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/12061690/japan-100000-over-100-centenarians/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Global News · collected 2026-09-16 · by Rachel Goodman

Quick Summary

Japan's Health and Welfare Ministry reported that the number of centenarians in Japan exceeded 100,000 for the first time, reaching 107,677 as of September 2023. This milestone was marked by a gender disparity with women making up about 88% of the total, attributed to historical factors like male casualties from World War II and differences in lifestyle choices and social engagement between men and women. The government highlighted advancements in healthcare and medical technology while also addressing concerns over Japan's aging population and declining fertility rate, which could lead to a significant drop in overall population by 2070.
Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Japan has surpassed a significant demographic milestone with over 100,000 people aged 100 or older, according to figures released by the Health and Welfare Ministry. This marks the first time Japan has reached this number since records began in the early 1960s; there were only 153 centenarians in 1963 when the Elderly Welfare Act was established. The current total stands at 107,677, an increase of 7,914 from the previous year. Women account for nearly 88% of this population, with Fuyo Kishimoto from Kyoto City being the oldest living Japanese woman at 114 years old, while Hikaru Kato is the country’s oldest man at 112 years old, residing in Kumamoto.

Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno expressed delight over these figures, attributing longevity to advancements in medical technology and a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise like walking and cycling. However, he also highlighted the challenge of maintaining a sustainable social security system amid an aging population expected to increase to nearly 40% by 2070 from its current 30%.

Written for “Japanese Centenarians Record” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Japanese Centenarians Record
Health · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

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This article reads unscored and hedges 25% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
Al Jazeera
Hedges 6 of 45 claims Outlet record 60/100
BBC News
Hedges 4 of 23 claims Outlet record 69/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
25%
4 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Global News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Global News · 2575 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Rachel Goodman
44 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Rachel Goodman
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 44 articles by Rachel Goodman →

Topics

Health Health and Welfare Ministry Japan Respect the Aged Day the Elderly Welfare Act

Subjects

Japan GPE · 9× the Associated Press ORG · 2× Health ORG · 1× Health and Welfare Ministry ORG · 1× Japanese NORP · 1× Kenichiro Ueno PERSON · 1× Sanae Takaichi PERSON · 1× Stuart Gietel-Basten PERSON · 1× the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ORG · 1× the New York Times ORG · 1×

Narrative

,” Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno told reporters Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, citing developments in medical technology, access to regular high-quality health care, healthy lifestyle and diet as contributing factors, before noting the importance of maintaining robust social safety nets as the population ages and declines.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 Men are also more likely to take industrial jobs, which could lead to long-term health issues.
2026-09-17 · Global News
Japan is now home to more than 100,000 people aged 100 or over · mixed framing

Claims (16 extracted, 4 hedged)

The number of people aged 100 years or more in Japan surpassed 100,000 for the first time, according to newly released government figures. uncertain
number → age → figures
Japan’s Health and Welfare Ministry statistics released Tuesday confirmed the milestone, showing that Japan now has 107,677 centenarians, up 7,914 from the previous year. asserted
Japan → release → centenarians
Of the people over 100, 13,379 are male and 94,298 are female, meaning women made up about 88 per cent of the total. asserted
women → mean → total
The figures were released on Sept. 15, known in Japan as Respect the Aged Day, when centenarians are honoured by the government with a letter from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and a silver sake cup. asserted
centenarians → release → Takaichi
Get weekly health news The number of centenarians nationwide has grown steadily since the early 1960s. asserted
number → get → 1960s
There were 153 centenarians in 1963, when the Elderly Welfare Act was ratified; the number surpassed 1,000 in 1981 and reached 10,000 in 1998, exceeding 50,000 in 2012. asserted
number → be → 2012
“I’m very pleased that many people are living a long, healthy and active lives asserted
people → live → lives
,” Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno told reporters Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, citing developments in medical technology, access to regular high-quality health care, healthy lifestyle and diet as contributing factors, before noting the importance of maintaining robust social safety nets as the population ages and declines. asserted
population → tell → nets
Stuart Gietel-Basten, a professor of social science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, told the New York Times that women are overrepresented in the category because many men of that generation were killed in World War II, and that survivors often drank and smoked. asserted
survivors → tell → II
Men are also more likely to take industrial jobs, which could lead to long-term health issues. uncertain
which → take → issues
Women, by contrast, tend to be more involved in their communities, which improves mental health, while men often experience isolation after the death of a spouse, he explained. asserted
he → tend → spouse
Its aging population combined with a slowing fertility rate means a drop in Japan’s population is inevitable, experts told the AP, noting that the country’s fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.14 in 2025, which is far below the 2.1 children threshold needed to maintain the current population. asserted
which → age → population
Experts estimate there will be a decline to 87 million by 2070 with nearly 40 per cent aged 65 or older, according to the national institute. uncertain
cent → estimate → institute
Young Japanese people are also reluctant to marry, recent data suggests. uncertain
data → marry → ?
Last week, the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research released the results of a survey which found that more than 20 per cent of single men and women in Japan aged between 18 and 34 do not intend to marry, with nearly half saying they see no benefit to the institution. asserted
they → release → institution
Ueno acknowledged that the reasons for marriage reluctance among young people included the high costs of raising and educating children and the mental and physical toll it takes on working parents, the AP noted. asserted
AP → acknowledge → parents
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