The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published a report today indicating that the number of Japanese aged 100 and over has increased to 36,276 in 2008. That is 3,981 more than last year. These results were published in advance of National Aged Day which takes place on 15 September.

From this total, 31,213 are women. The highest concentration of centenarians are found in Okinawa (61 in every 100,000), with Shimane second (58) and Kochi third (55).

The oldest man is Tomoji Tanabe, aged 113, and lives in Miyazaki Prefecture.

The Wisdom Years documentary was screened at Silver College in Kobe on 8 and 9 September 2008 and colleagues from the WHO Centre for Health Development were on hand to answer questions.

Silver College appears in the Wisdom Years documentary as an example of how communities can provide educational facilities for retirees. The screenings were well recevied by the college students and over one hundred attended.

The World Health Organization published a report on 28 August 2008 that showed how social factors influence health and life expectency around the world. The report is based on a three year study by the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, chaired by Sir Michael Marmot.

For example, the research shows that “a girl in the African country of Lesotho is, on average, likely to live 42 years less than a girl in Japan.”

For more on this study, see the full report or read the executive summary.