Kamato Hongo, seen here in September 2001, was recognized as the world's oldest person when she died in 2003 at age 115.             More than 28,000 Japanese are 100 years or older, up from a mere 1,000 at the start of the 1980s as solid health habits increase the graying of the population. The number of Japanese centenarians increased by 2,841 from last year, bringing the total to 28,395, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Friday. The oldest person is a woman, Yoneko Minagawa, 113, from the main southern island of Kyushu, said the survey. Women accounted for an overwhelming 85 percent of the centenarian population at 24,245, nearly six times more than the number of men, the ministry said in a report. The Japanese knack for longevity is often attributed to the traditional healthy food and lifestyle, despite the rigors of life in the crowded big cities. But the government is also struggling to find ways to put a brake on Japan's declining birthrate, which is essential to support elderly care. Japan had a mere 153 centenarians in 1963 when the government started counting. The number topped 1,000 in 1981 and surpassed 10,000 in 1998. Japan's southern regions of Okinawa, Shikoku, and Kyushu are home to the highest concentrations of centenarians. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's cabinet will send commemorative silver cups congratulating Japanese people who celebrated their 100th birthdays this year. Japanese woman Kamato Hongo was recognized as the world's oldest person when she died in 2003 at age 115.

良好的健康習慣是日本長壽老人增多的一大原因，目前，日本百歲及百歲以上的老人達到28000人之多，遠遠超過上世紀80年代初的1000人。 上周五，據日本厚生勞動省（健康、勞工及福利部）介紹，今年日本百歲老人的數量比去年多2841人，百歲老人的總數也增加到28395人。 調查顯示，目前日本年齡最大的老人是來自日本南部九州島的一位名叫米子皆川的老太太，今年113歲。 據厚生勞動省的一份報告顯示，百歲老人中的女性老人占大多數，為85％，其總人數達到24245人，是百歲男性老人的近6倍之多。 盡管擁擠的城市生活讓人勞累，但傳統的健康飲食習慣和生活方式一直是日本人長壽的秘訣。 同時，日本政府也在想方設法解決日本出生率不斷下降的問題，這對老年人護理業至關重要。 1963年，日本開始對百歲老人數量進行統計，當時全國只有153名百歲老人，而這個數字在1981年就達到了1000，1998年突破1萬。 百歲老人主要集中在日本南部的沖繩島、四國島和九州島等地區。 日本首相小泉純一郎內閣將為今年過一百歲生日的老人送上紀念銀杯，以表慶賀。 于2003年去世的日本女壽星門真本江被認為是目前世界上壽命最長的人，享年115歲。 (英語點津姍姍編輯)

(Agencies)