Japanese Women are Living Even Longer

Japanese women have been the longest-lived of any group of people for many years now, and a new report from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (reported by the Associated Press) show that they have extended their lead even further, up to a life expectancy of 86.5 years. Japanese men are not #1, however, and indeed they have slipped from 4th to 5th in the world rankings, apparently because of an increase in suicide among older men. The AP story suggests that longer lives among women might be a problem because of the increasing number of older people, but in fact it is probably a good thing because--given the very low birth--it will slow down the process of depopulation in Japan.