"First Time Since Major Earthquake"…Average Life Expectancy Drops in Japan, the 'Long-Lived Nation', What About Korea?

The average life expectancy of Japanese people has decreased for the first time in 10 years. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] It has been revealed that the average life expectancy of Japanese people has decreased for the first time in 10 years.

Recently, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun cited data released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on the 29th, reporting that last year, the average life expectancy of Japanese people was 87.57 years for women and 81.47 years for men. This represents a decrease of 0.14 years for women and 0.09 years for men compared to 2020.

Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a newborn is expected to live assuming current mortality rates remain constant. Also called expected lifespan, it is known as an indicator showing how long people are expected to live on average.

According to Yomiuri Shimbun, this is the first time in 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 that this figure has decreased compared to the previous year. Until now, the average life expectancy of Japanese men had increased for nine consecutive years and women for eight consecutive years, setting record highs, but this trend has been broken for the first time.

The reason cited is the increase in deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The newspaper reported, "In 2021, about 16,700 people died from COVID-19, approximately five times more than the previous year," adding, "The number of COVID-19 deaths alone reduced the average life expectancy by about 0.1 years for men and 0.07 years for women."

However, Japan's average life expectancy, classified as a representative longevity country, remains high globally. According to recently released statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Japan's expected lifespan was 84.7 years, the highest among OECD member countries.

South Korea's expected lifespan was 83.5 years, the second highest after Japan. This is 3.0 years longer than the OECD average (80.5 years). Also, compared to 10 years ago (80.2 years), it has increased by 3.3 years.