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Why Do Japanese People Live So Long? What the Data Says About Healthcare, Diet and Daily Life
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Why Do Japanese People Live So Long? What the Data Says About Healthcare, Diet and Daily Life

In 2025 life expectancy in Japan reached 81.35 years for men and 87.33 for women. The evidence points first to universal health insurance, public health and less salt, with diet, bathing and ikigai playing supporting roles. Here is what the studies actually found

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J-Times 編集部 / J-Times Editorial Team

March 25, 2026Updated: Oct 26, 202614 min358 views
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第6回 日本人はなぜ長生き？ — 「和食の秘密」より先にあった、3つの理由

なぜ？ニッポン · 7 min · Japanese audio

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Japanese life expectancy reached 81.35 (men) and 87.33 (women) in 2025. Universal health insurance, public health and a big drop in strokes did most of the work; diet, bathing and ikigai help. What the research really says, and what you can do.

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Short answer (as of 26 October 2026): According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), life expectancy at birth in 2025 was 81.35 years for men and 87.33 for women. Women live longer than in any other country in the ministry's comparison table; men rank seventh. There is no single secret that is "neither healthcare nor genetics". What research points to first is universal health insurance, which began in 1961, local public health work, a sharp fall in strokes as people ate less salt, and low rates of obesity. Diet, bathing and a sense of purpose probably help too, but none of them is a magic formula.

This article was first published in March 2026 and has been rewritten after checking it against official statistics and the original studies. The old version's conclusion ("not healthcare or genetics"), its "Harvard study" attributing 30% of longevity to food, an "Ehime University" bathing study and a "Tohoku study of 70,000 people" were either untraceable or misreported, and have been corrected (see "What we corrected").

Behind Japan's life-expectancy figures are the doctors and public-health nurses who fought tuberculosis after the war, the volunteers who went from kitchen to kitchen urging people to cut salt, and families who put balanced meals on the table every day. Longevity here is a collective achievement, not a personal trick.

A Japanese home dinner: rice, grilled mackerel with grated daikon, tofu, pickles, hijiki seaweed, simmered dried daikon, a hearty miso soup and a mandarin orange. Photo: サフィル / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 (2017)
A Japanese home dinner: rice, grilled mackerel with grated daikon, tofu, pickles, hijiki seaweed, simmered dried daikon, a hearty miso soup and a mandarin orange. Photo: サフィル / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 (2017)

Photo: サフィル / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

How long do Japanese people live, and is it really the world's longest?

In 2025 life expectancy was 81.35 years for men (up 0.25) and 87.33 for women (up 0.20). In MHLW's international table, Japanese women have the highest figure of any country listed, and Japanese men come seventh, behind Sweden (82.52), Switzerland (82.4), Italy, Norway, Cyprus and Spain.

Whether Japan is "number one" depends on what you compare:

  • Including territories: the same table lists Hong Kong separately, at 83.27 years for men and 88.73 for women, higher than Japan for both.
  • WHO estimates (both sexes): Japan's life expectancy at birth in 2023 was 83.9 years, the highest of 185 countries.
  • Healthy life expectancy: WHO puts Japan at 72.2 years, second to Singapore.

The old version gave "87.14 for women and 81.09 for men (2024)". In fact 87.14 was the women's figure for 2023; in 2024 the figures were 81.09 and 87.13.

How many centenarians does Japan have?

107,677 as of 1 September 2026, the first time the number has passed 100,000 since records began, and the 56th consecutive annual record. Women account for 94,298, or 87.6%.

The old version's "over 90,000" was close to the 2025 figure (99,763). The number of centenarians depends both on longer lives and on how many people were born around a century ago.

Why did life expectancy rise so much after the war?

In 1947 life expectancy was 50.06 years for men and 53.96 for women. In about 80 years it has risen by more than 30 years. Japanese genes did not change in that time; society and daily life did.

A 2011 paper in The Lancet's series on Japan explained the gains roughly like this:

  • Right after the war: deaths from tuberculosis and other infectious diseases fell rapidly.
  • From the 1960s: deaths from stroke fell sharply, helped by community prevention such as blood-pressure control and by wider access to medical care through universal health insurance, introduced in 1961.
  • Small inequalities: equal access to education and affordable care kept health gaps between groups relatively narrow.

So the old headline had it backwards. A health system that everyone can use, and local public health work, are the first explanations researchers give. No study rules genetics out entirely, but genes cannot explain a 30-year rise within a few generations.

Does Japanese food really help people live longer?

Probably, but not every Japanese dish. A 2021 review by Shoichiro Tsugane of the National Cancer Center attributes Japan's low death rates from heart disease and cancer to low obesity, little red meat, plenty of fish, soy foods and green tea. Yet the traditional diet was also very salty, and salt drove Japan's high rates of stroke and stomach cancer.

The same review notes that in the 1960s Japan had the shortest life expectancy in the G7, largely because of stroke and stomach cancer. As people ate less salt and salty food, and more meat, milk and dairy, blood pressure appears to have fallen, and deaths from stroke and stomach cancer dropped steeply.

On fermented foods, a Japanese cohort study of about 93,000 people (the JPHC Study, BMJ 2020) found that those who ate the most fermented soy, such as natto and miso, had about a 10% lower risk of death overall than those who ate the least. Total soy intake showed no such link, and the authors themselves warn that other factors may explain the result. For more on koji and fermentation, see Koji, fermentation and travel.

Salt is still a problem. In the 2024 National Health and Nutrition Survey, adults ate an average of 9.6 g of salt a day (10.5 g for men, 8.9 g for women), above the national target of 7 g. Miso soup and pickles are fermented, but they are also salty.

We could not find the "Harvard study" that the old version said attributed "over 30% of Japanese longevity" to food culture, so that claim has been removed.

Does hara hachi bu (eating until 80% full) extend life?

Not proven in humans. Cutting calories extends lifespan in some animals, but no human study has measured lifespan itself. In CALERIE, a two-year trial supported by the US National Institutes of Health, people who cut calories by about 12% on average improved several markers linked to ageing.

Hara hachi bu is still sensible advice for avoiding weight gain. But the old version's claims that it was "scientifically proven" through sirtuin genes, and that Japanese meals carry "20-30% fewer calories" than Western ones and that this explains the life-expectancy gap, went far beyond the evidence.

Okinawa shows how quickly things can change. In 1985 Okinawan men had the longest life expectancy of any prefecture. By 2020 they ranked 43rd of 47, and Okinawan women, long first, had fallen to 16th. As diets and lifestyles change, so do the rankings. (On Okinawa's traditional foods, see the 7 sacred foods of Okinawa.)

Does a daily hot bath help you live longer?

There is an association. A Japanese study that followed about 30,000 middle-aged adults for nearly 20 years (JPHC Study, Heart 2020) found that people who soaked in a tub almost every day had a 28% lower risk of heart disease and stroke combined than those who bathed twice a week or less. That is an association, not proof of cause.

The study came from Osaka University and other institutions, not from Ehime University as the old version said. An editorial in the same issue warned that other factors, such as having the time and comfort to bathe daily, might explain part of the result.

Baths carry their own danger. According to Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency, accidental drowning has killed more older people each year since 2011 than road accidents have, and most of those deaths happen in bathtubs at home or in care facilities (4,900 bathtub deaths in 2019). They cluster in the winter months from November to April. The advice is to keep the water at 41°C or below and to soak for no more than 10 minutes. For hot-spring manners, see our onsen etiquette guide.

Does ikigai affect how long you live?

It seems to. A Tohoku University study (2008) followed 43,391 people aged 40 to 79 in Ōsaki, Miyagi, for about seven years. Those who said they had no ikigai had about 1.5 times the risk of death of those who said they did, mainly from cardiovascular disease and external causes such as accidents and suicide.

The old version described "a study of 70,000 people" with "over 30% lower mortality"; we have corrected the numbers. Ikigai takes different shapes for different people: a reason to get up in the morning, a sense of being useful, a role at work, in a hobby or in the neighbourhood. We look at the word itself in 4 Japanese words that change how you see life.

Is living long the same as living well?

No. Japan's healthy life expectancy (average years lived without limits on daily activities) was 72.57 years for men and 75.45 for women in 2022. The gap with life expectancy, 8.49 years for men and 11.63 for women, is roughly the time people may need some support.

That gap is narrowing slowly, but the real challenge for a long-lived country is living well for longer, not just living longer. Sleep is another weak spot; see how little the Japanese sleep.

What you can do starting today

  • Cut salt: fill soups with vegetables and use less broth; don't drink the noodle broth; keep pickles to a small portion.
  • Eat fish and soy a few times a week: grilled fish, tofu, natto. Count the salt in fermented foods too.
  • Don't overeat: treat hara hachi bu as a habit for staying at a healthy weight, not a diet trick.
  • Bathe safely: warm the changing room, keep water at 41°C or below and soak for up to 10 minutes; avoid bathing right after drinking alcohol or a big meal.
  • Get checked: knowing your blood pressure and blood sugar is the first step against stroke and heart disease.
  • Keep a role: work, hobbies, community or family. Somewhere you are counted on, however small.

Common mistakes

  • Adding miso soup and pickles because "fermented is healthy", and overshooting on salt.
  • Expecting a supplement or a single "superfood" to do the work.
  • Assuming a long, very hot soak must be good for you.

Frequently asked questions

Isn't Japanese longevity mostly genetic? Genes may play some part, but life expectancy rose by more than 30 years in about 80 years. That came from changes in society and daily life, not in genes.

Do Japanese women really live the longest in the world? They have the highest figure among the countries in MHLW's table, though Hong Kong, listed separately, is higher. In WHO's both-sexes estimate, Japan is first of 185 countries.

Is Okinawa still Japan's longevity capital? No. In the 2020 prefectural life tables, Okinawa ranked 43rd for men and 16th for women.

Will a daily bath prevent heart disease? The study found an association, not proof that bathing itself is protective. Older people in particular should take care in cold bathrooms in winter.

If I switch to a Japanese diet, will I live longer? A diet rich in fish, soy and vegetables is a good direction, but watch the salt, and pair it with check-ups, exercise and social connection.

What we corrected

  • Title and conclusion "not healthcare or genetics" → research credits universal health insurance and public health first.
  • "87.14 and 81.09 (2024)" → updated to 2025 (87.33 and 81.35); 87.14 was the 2023 figure.
  • "Women first globally, men near the top" → women highest among countries in MHLW's table, men 7th; Hong Kong and WHO figures added.
  • "Over 90,000 centenarians" → 107,677 (September 2026).
  • "Harvard: over 30% of longevity explained by food culture" → removed (not found).
  • "Hara hachi bu proven via sirtuin genes; 20-30% fewer calories per meal" → reframed (no human lifespan evidence).
  • "Ehime University: 28% lower heart disease risk" → corrected to the JPHC study (28% lower for heart disease and stroke combined).
  • "Tohoku study of 70,000, >30% lower mortality" → 43,391 people; about 1.5 times the risk without ikigai.
  • "Higher bifidobacteria boosting immunity" → removed (no checked source linking it to longevity).
  • Added: postwar drivers, salt, Okinawa's fall in the rankings, healthy life expectancy, bath safety, and a checklist.

Sources and dates checked (all checked on 2026-10-26)

By J-Times Editorial (information as of 2026-10-26)

#bathing#ikigai#Japanese diet#life expectancy#longevity#Public health

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J-Times 編集部 / J-Times Editorial Team