Japanese women have regained the world’s longest average life expectancy, according to a Japanese Health Ministry report.
Their life expectancy rose to 86.41 years in 2012, about half a year longer than the previous year.
Japanese women lost the top spot after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which took nearly 20,000 lives. For the 2011 figures, released in 2012, Hong Kong women ranked number 1.
These 2012 figures, released on July 25 and reported by the Asahi Shimbun on July 26, also saw the Japanese men moving up from eighth in 2011 to fifth in 2012. The top ranking spot for average life expectancy for men was Iceland, with the average age being 80.8 years old.
For women, Hong Kong was second (86.3) and Spain was third (84.97), while for women, Hong Kong was second (80.6) and Switzerland was third (80.3).
The Japanese media outlet notes that figures for some countries may predate 2012.
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