Japan sets new records for centenarians -- and here's how they live to 100

Japan’s centenarian population has reached a record high as the country continues to maintain the world’s longest life expectancy – a milestone officials credit to healthy lifestyles and fewer fatal diseases.

The East Asian nation, for the 55th year in a row, has set a new record as its population of citizens aged 100 or older soared to a staggering 99,763 — up 4,644 from the previous year, according to the government’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the BBC reported.

Women make up a striking 87,784 of the total – or 88% – compared with 11,979 men. 3

The country’s oldest living person is Shigeko Kagawa , a 114-year-old retired physician from Nara Prefecture, who ran her family’s clinic as an obstetrician and gynecologist until retiring at 86.

Kagawa – a symbol of Japan