Japan Reports a Record 2,668 People 100 Years Old or Older
A record 2,668 people in Japan will be 100 or older by the end of the month, the government said Friday.
Last year, Japan had 2,271 centenarians, the Health and Welfare Ministry said.
Women, including Japan’s oldest citizen, 112-year-old Mitsu Fujisawa, accounted for 2,106 of those 100 or older this year, the ministry said in a report.
The nation’s oldest man, Eiju Tsuru, 109, was one of only two men in the report’s list of the 20 oldest citizens. Tsuru was listed as the sixth-oldest Japanese.
The report is released each year before Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday celebrated on Sept. 15. On that day, those 100 or older will receive a certificate and silver cup bearing the name of the prime minister.
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