Japan, the land of the rising sun's centenarian population, has reached a record high as the country continues to maintain the world’s longest life expectancy, reports said here.

According to data released by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the country set a new record for 55th year in a row as the number of centenarians was 99,763 as of September.

Moreover, women accounted for 88 pc of this total number of centenarians.

‘Centenarians’ are people who are 100 years old or older. This term is associated with exceptional longevity as the global life expectancy is generally below 100.

The oldest woman living in Japan is Shigeko Kagawa, a 114-year old retired obstetrician and gynaecologist by profession who also served in the Second World War as a physician in a hospital in Osaka.

Moreover, the oldest man is Mizuno Kiyotaka, a 111-year-old man who was born in Iwata. In his young life, he was the guard for the emperor and served during the February 26 incident in 1936 and World War II.

The February 26 incident was an attempted coup d'état in the Empire of Japan on 26th February 1936. It was organized by a group of young Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) officers with the goal of purging the government and military leadership.

Japanese Health Minister Takamaro Fukoka congratulated the centenarians and described it as “ gratitude for their many years of contributions to the development of society."

Japan continuously led global rankings for living longer and healthier lives compared to other countries. It mainly accounted for multiple reasons like consumption of vegetables, everyday workouts, different cooking methods, and consumption of soups.

Moreover, Japanese tea culture also plays a significant role in tackling diseases, the consumption of soy and fresh foods.