Japan's centenarian milestone
Japan's health ministry reported the country's centenarian population topped 100,000 for the first time, reaching 107,677 -- a 56th consecutive annual rise and roughly 8,000 more than the year before -- with women making up 88% of the total. The country's oldest residents are 114-year-old Fuyo Kishimoto of Kyoto and 112-year-old Hikaru Kato of Kumamoto. Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno credited advances in medicine and lifestyle, and experts pointed to Japan's fish-and-vegetable-heavy diet and active daily habits, but officials also warned the milestone underscores mounting strain on the social security system: Japan's population has fallen in nearly every prefecture as its fertility rate hit a record low of 1.14 births per woman, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi calling the demographic slide a 'quiet emergency' and forecasts putting the total population at 87 million by 2070, down from a 2008 peak of 128 million.
Follow this story on the globe