News Japan sees first decline in life expectancy in a decade

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Japan saw its first dent in life expectancy in 2021: the average life span for women was 87.57 years (down by 0.14 years from 2020), while that of men shrank by 0.09 years to 81.47 years. This is the first decline since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

Japan retains its first position in terms of life expectancy for women, followed by South Korea (86.5 years) and Singapore (85.9 years), while that for men ranks in the third position, behind Switzerland (81.6 years) and Norway (81.59 years).

The average life expectancy in Japan is still on a rising trend. The number of coronavirus patients in Japan surged in 2021, the second year of the pandemic, driven by the highly-contagious Delta and Omicron variants. About 16,000 people died of the virus in that year, according to calculation by the ministry. Average life expectancy is the average length of time a person at birth is expected to live, assuming that the death rate in a year does not change. According to the ministry's estimate, 88.3 percent of Japanese women who were born last year are expected to live until 75 years old, while the corresponding percentage for men is predicted to be 76.0 percent.

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I haven't been closely following the arithmetic of the pandemic for a couple of years now, but it doesn't surprise me that the effect on the overall mortality of Japan (particularly its aging population) should drop the average lifespan by a few months.

Japan's long life span and the merits/demerits of such is a conversation that has gained a toehold at the Majestic dinner table of late. So these details about 0.14 years or 0.09 years...I'm looking at them in a different light lately. I find myself in agreement with Mrs. Majestic that a longer lifespan is only a good thing if you can enjoy a high "quality of life" in your later years. If you are hooked up to tubes and unable to eat or drink or travel or enjoy the company of your friends and family, would you really want to live another 3 months or 6 months or 12 months? Sorry if it sounds morbid on this lovely day. Here's to hoping we can all live to 87.57 years, eating great food, drinking great wine/whiskey, and snowboarding or hang-gliding or whatever.

I'm glad we have assisted suicide here in Maine and my doctor is all for it in the right conditions. At 72 , death doesn't scare me too much. The thought of leaving my wife in deep dept over longterm medical bills by me is a major worry. I'm also deathly allergic to morphine and other common pain meds so having a long painful death is not something I want to deal with. If my life ever becomes a big issue with no enjoyment or pleasure to it , I won't be afraid to end it. Maybe it's just an old age thing that makes me feel this way. Right now , life is good so I don't worry about it.

It seems the negative trend has been reversed:

According to government data released on Friday, the average life expectancy of Japanese people rose for the first time in three years in 2023. This increase follows a period of decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Women: The average life expectancy reached 87.14 years, an increase of 0.05 from 2022.
• Men: The average life expectancy was 81.09 years, up by 0.04 years from 2022.

Japan continues to lead globally in life expectancy for women, followed by Switzerland (85.9 years) and France (85.75 years).

Meanwhile, in the global ranking for men by country, Japan dropped from fourth to fifth, with Switzerland remaining at the top at 82.3 years, followed by Sweden at 81.58 years and Norway at 81.39 years. Roughly 38,000 people in Japan died from the coronavirus in 2023, around 10,000 less than the previous year. The probability that women born in 2023 will die due to the virus in the future is 2.37 per cent, while it is 2.64 per cent for men, the ministry said in an assessment. Both figures dropped from above 3 per cent as compared to the previous year. The ministry also projected that 41.26 per cent of females born in 2023 and 46.47 per cent of males would die of cancer, heart disease or cerebrovascular disease, down from the previous year for both genders.

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Japanese average life expectancy peaked in 2020 at 87.71 years for women and 81.56 years for men.