More than 95,000 Japanese aged over 100; most of them women

And is this a good thing? Nobody lives forever and this puts a tremendous burden on the young people to pay for their care.

@WeiWei

You too will be old one day. Will you euthanize yourself at the age of seventy?

As long as they have a decent quality of life, amazing! And congrats to all of them!

However, what I'm more curious about is how many of their children are still alive. The people currently alive at 100 led very different lives than many of their children. I know Okinawans who are more than 100 and have seen their children die of diseases that did not previously exist in their family history -- diabetes, heart disease, etc., due to a very altered life-style than their parents.

The question is . How many are really stil alive and how manyxare decceased with family keep drawing pensions.

This was a big thing back in 2010, robert maes, so perhaps you remember the story. The Justice Ministry reported more than 230,000 "missing" centenarians at the time. They said that many might actually have died even as far back as the war. One person was supposed to be 186 years old. At the time believed to be Japan's oldest man, it turned out he had been dead for 30 years and his daughter had been drawing his pension.

I should clarify, the 186-year-old was not the oldest man referred to.

....knowing my luck... I may be living over 100 years easy.... the just the idea of that makes me sick....

Daniel Neagari

....knowing my luck... I may be living over 100 years easy.... the just the idea of that makes me sick....

The choice is yours.

WeiWeiToday  05:13 pm JST

And is this a good thing? Nobody lives forever and this puts a tremendous burden on the young people to pay for their care.

nothing more heartwarming than forgetting parents have a tremendous burden to pay for the care of children for 18+ years, with many paying longer than that?

Society maybe needs to restructure to cope with changing demographics.

That lady was born 1908. Mate that lady would lived through some most historic times. Let say she was born in the back streets of Tokyo. her mother may of be a store owner and her dad government worker. the lady would of seen the best and the very bad of Japan over her life time. this lady was out seen the age of gold the age of the feit dollar and cypto. From writing letters with a ink well and stylus to email by PC.

Congrats ladies, not only that you outmaneuvered men but you also out lived them .

Japan is facing a steadily worsening population crisis, as its expanding elderly population leads to soaring medical and welfare costs, with a shrinking labour force to pay for it.

This is assuming old people get free health care, when they’ve been paying into a system all their lives, with extra tack ons added after 60.

Working people are not paying entirely for the elderly, and making such a statement is emotional manipulation, creating resentment.

Women want to get married so they don't die alone, women at 100, die alone anyway.

I take these stories with a grain of salt. There's a strong correlation between countries with "oldest population" and countries with the most pension fraud. Japan has been getting called out in economist circles as of late over it.

It's not like relatives have to go out of the way to do this. They just have to hold off telling the gov't.

WeiWeiToday  05:13 pm JST

And is this a good thing? Nobody lives forever and this puts a tremendous burden on the young people to pay for their care.

You'll be advocating for Logans Run next. And when do you decide what is the cut off age? And i guess its the "do it to them, but I didn't mean me,my family or my friends, or my friends family...Just the ones you don't give a flying.........(Cough) And did those very same pensioner pay for their schooling, health care too.

Maybe, maybe not. The number of people aged 100 or over in an area can be predicted by how well birth records were recorded and maintained 100 years ago.

For the sake of equality and to reduce burden on young working people, men and women retirement age should be set proportionally to the their life expectancy everywhere. Perhaps even other demographics that proven to have significantly different life expectancy to be included.

This story has missed some marks and or danced around some points.

First, the government has not made 65 the official retirement age, and so, what do companies do at the age of 60 people are made to retire and if they wish to keep their post they'll be rehired at a reduced wage. Insulting and demeaning is what this for those over 60 as they continue their same job for a fraction of their wage because the government refuses to raise the official retirement age.

Second, when people hit the age of 70, they hit the elderly really hard by raising their health care premiums to 40 thousand yen a month and making even harder for this age group to exist and where the elderly cut back on their electricity and other daily necessities. You don't hear about the elderly complain because the culture is keeping a stiff upper lip, and they get on with their suffering in silence. How to know this is true, more and more elderly are committing crimes, and so, they will be sent to prison so they can be taken care of, and just look at the senior stats of now of people in the Japanese prison system and most are petty crimes truly sad.

tigerjane

Second, when people hit the age of 70, they hit the elderly really hard by raising their health care premiums to 40 thousand yen a month and making even harder for this age group to exist and where the elderly cut back on their electricity and other daily necessities.

You have posted that comment several times. I find it odd because both my partner and I are over 70, and we don't pay ¥40,000 a month or anything like that. Additionally, we have our health costs reduced to 10%.

Wallace, that is a blessing for you, because all of my elderly friends here in Japan are not getting the same blessing as you.

Earlier this month, the Cabinet approved a proposal that would require people over 74 to pay 20% of health care costs out of pocket, thus doubling the portion they currently pay. The plan would apply to single person households with yearly incomes of ¥2 million or more. For a two-person household where both residents are over 74, the threshold is ¥3.2 million.

Residents enrolled in the national health insurance system currently pay 30% out of pocket, and then 10% once they reach 75. Many older people live on fixed incomes and tend to use health care services more than younger people do, so the government believes that, due to the growing elderly population, younger people — the "working generation," as the government calls them — are being unfairly stuck with the bill for their parents' and grandparents' health care.

The media has found nothing strange about the plan: What's wrong with asking older people of means to pay a larger share of their health care costs? But that justification springs from a basic understanding that the health insurance system as it stands is fair, when, in fact, it isn't.

Wallace here is an article from the Japan Times written in 2022, and so, please prepare yourself.

The longevity of the Japanese people shows that Japan is one of the best countries to live in the world.

The longevity of the Japanese people shows that Japan is one of the best countries to live in the world.

I'd say it's more of an indicator in having had good food/eating habits in their culture over the past 100 years, and maybe some good genetics too.

Please do not shoot the messenger. I do not agree with the article that I cut and pasted, however, that is the reality of the elderly presently in Japan all I am doing is just relaying the facts. I find the government heartless and mean spirited with their decisions regarding the healthcare in Japan for the elderly,

I get less than JPY 200,000 a month pension.

My wife takes 50,000 for food expenses, the landlord takes 50,000 for rent, both automatically deducted, and I pay around 50,000 for health insurance, healthcare, etc. With what is left I pay all the other household, car and transportation bills for two, etc. It certainly feels as if Tigerjane above is correct.

Nanda

H9w can they take that much on health insurance when you’re low income?

Healthcare.

because all of my elderly friends... 

darn, never thought i was elderly until reading this. we 70+ are just fermenting.

H9w can they take that much on health insurance when you’re low income?

yes, i would think it would be 15,000 per person. he should check with the city.

My elderly friend works for a kuakusho she her husband are individuals suffering under this governmental decision. Both are in their 70’s and forced to work, because her and her husband’s pensions don’t cover their bills.

Interestingly, homogametic individuals (eggs XX females in (most) mammals, and ZZ males in birds) tend to outlive their heterogametic counterparts. So it’s not surprising then, for our species, that most centenarians are women.