Japanese Women Bring Life Expectancy to New High

Japanese Women in traditional Kimonos in Tokyo Japan. Japanese women's life span rose by nearly five months, reaching 86.44 years old. Yoshikazu Tsuno/Getty Images

Japanese women are now expected to live up to 86.44 years old, marking a new record in longevity, the government announced Monday.

Both Japanese women and men extended their average life expectancy. Women’s life span rose by nearly five months, while that of men increased by almost four months, reaching 79.59 years old.

The average life expectancy of Japanese women has topped world’s longevity ranking for 25 consecutive years. Men’s life expectancy dropped from fourth to fifth position in the past year.

With good medical treatment, healthy diets, and high living standards in Japan, the country’s longevity continues to increase as mortality from cancer, cardiac disorders, strokes, and pneumonia decrease, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported.

Although longevity is usually good news, the extended life expectancies signal a growing elderly population. An aging population is expected to strain government services, pension programs and cause labor shortages.

For women, Hong Kong ranks second in longevity at 86.1 years old and France ranks third at 84.5 years old. For men, Qatar tops the list at 81 years old, Hong Kong places second with 79.8 years, and Iceland ranks third with 79.7 years old.

To read the full government report, please visit http://tinyurl.com/35demts.