Japan's Century Club Swells To 40,399

[The Straight Story]

Japan's Century Club Swells To 40,399
Each Centenarian To Receive PM Greeting, Silver Cup
MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO -- The number of Japanese centenarians has doubled in the past six years to a record high of more than 40,000, with women dominating the list of those whose lives have spanned more than a century, the government said Friday.

Japan will have 40,399 people aged 100 or older this month, surpassing the previous record of 36,276 last year, the Health and Welfare Ministry said in an annual report marking a Sept. 21 national holiday honoring the elderly. More than 86 percent are women.

The number of centenarians in Japan has risen at an accelerating pace for nearly 50 years. The centenarian population surpassed 10,000 just 10 years ago, reached 30,000 in 2007 and grew another 10,000 in the past two years, the ministry said.

By 2050, Japan's centenarian population is expected to reach nearly 1 million, according to the U.N. projections.

"The data clearly show that Japan is aging rapidly and steadily, mainly because of progress in medical care and the high living standard since the end of World War II," ministry official Hiroyuki Ishii said.

http://www.clickorlando.com/health/20846185/detail.html

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Why... this JUST CAN'T be! They have "socialized medicine" in Japan!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Japan

In the Japanese health care system, healthcare services, including screening examinations for particular diseases at no direct cost to the patient, prenatal care, and infectious disease control, are provided by national and local governments. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health care insurance system that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments. Since 1983<1>, all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance. Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice.

[exboyfil]

2. Interesting question will be who will take care of this elderly

population. They are not having kids, and no one is talking about any sort of immigration.

[zbdent]

3. They also show much more respect of their elders

there's a whole different mindset in Japan ...

Part of the "Japanization" of the American workers in the 80s didn't acknowledge the full aspect of the "Japanese" culture ... that, when the company needed to meet a goal, the President of the company would be right there on the line with the workers, doing exactly the same job as the underlings, in the exact same conditions. And if they failed to meet the goal, they shouldered the shame as much or more than the "line workers".