Japan is now home to more than 100,000 people aged 100 or over – National– globalnews.ca

The number of people aged 100 years or more in Japan surpassed 100,000 for the first time, according to newly released government figures.

Japan’s Health and Welfare Ministry statistics released Tuesday confirmed the milestone, showing that Japan now has 107,677 centenarians, up 7,914 from the previous year.

Of the people over 100, 13,379 are male and 94,298 are female, meaning women made up about 88 per cent of the total.

The figures were released on Sept. 15, known in Japan as Respect the Aged Day, when centenarians are honoured by the government with a letter from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and a silver sake cup.