Japanese longevity continues to grow

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Tokyo: Japanese people are living longer than ever, with the average life expectancy now 86.05 years for women and 79.29 years for men, the country’s health ministry has revealed.

The life expectancy of Japanese women increased by almost 22 days in 2008 from the previous year, while men added another 37 days, the ministry said.

The longevity of the Japanese is attributed in part to a healthy traditional diet including fish and vegetables and an active lifestyle.

But longevity is causing economic problems for Japan, which has one of the world’s lowest birth rates, leaving a shrinking working population to support a mass of retirees.

World’s oldest man reaches 113

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Tokyo: The world’s oldest man, Tomoji Tanabe, turned 113 today and declared that he wanted to live for at least another five years.

Mr Tanabe, who was born September 18, 1895, celebrated his milestone in his hometown of Miyakonojo, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu.

He wants to live for “another five years or so”, and cited healthy diet, an abstinence of alcohol, and a drink of milk every afternoon as the major factors behind his longevity.

“I am happy,” he said. “I eat a lot,” he said, but added that he strictly avoided alcohol, cigarettes and snacks.

Mr Tanabe received birthday gifts, flowers and US$1,000 cash from the mayor of Miyakonojo – a present awarded to the oldest man in the village, let alone the world.

Mr Tanabe lives with one of his sons and daughter-in-law, and has over 100 descendants including eight children, 25 grandchildren, 52 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.

The world’s oldest person is 115-year-old American Edna Parker, who was born on April 20, 1893, and lives in a nursing home in Indiana.

Japan has one of the world’s longest life expectancies, nearly 86 years for women and 79 years for men, which is often attributed to the country’s healthy diet rich in fish and rice.

The number of Japanese living past 100 has more than doubled in the last six years, reaching a record high of 36,000 people this year. Japan’s centenarian population is expected to reach nearly 1 million — the world’s largest — by 2050, according to UN projections.

World’s oldest man reaches 112

Tokyo: Tomoji Tanabe, has celebrated being the oldest man in the world at the age of 112.

Born on 18 September 1895, he celebrated his record birthday at home in Miyakonojo, on the island of Kyushu, 900 kilometres south-west of the capital.

The town’s Mayor paid his respects with a bunch of flowers and a cheque for 850 yen, equal to around 650 euro. And of course, the question about the secret of a long life. Drink milk, steer clear of alcohol and eat healthily: lots of greens and a breakfast of rice soup, miso (fermented soya) and algae.

Tanabe claims that he has never stopped keeping his diary, reading every daily paper of the day and going for a walk alone. “He is in really good health”, doctors assure us.

“I want to live for ever, I do not want to die”, he told journalists. It is a target that more and more Japanese are attaining: according to statistics, there are over 32,000 hundred-year-olds.

Japanese women have held the world record in longevity for the past twenty-two years, with the men second only to Icelanders.