The life expectancy for Japanese women reached 86.61 years in 2013 and remained the world's longest for the second year in a row, followed by Hong Kong, the health ministry said Thursday.
The average length of life for Japanese men was 80.21 years, the fourth longest in the world after Hong Kong, Iceland and Switzerland, according to data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The average length of life, or life expectancy at birth, represents how long newborns in a particular year are expected to live. Behind Japanese women were Hong Kong women, whose life expectancy was 86.57 years on average for last year, followed by Spain and France with 85.13 and 85.0 respectively. For men, Hong Kong was top with an average lifespan of 80.87 years, Iceland ranked second with 80.80 years and Switzerland third with 80.50 years, respectively.
The average life expectancy for both Japanese women and men rose from last year and post record highs, with men's lifespan surpassing 80 years for the first time. The ministry attributed the rise to improvements in medical treatment results for the three biggest causes of death in Japan -- cancer, heart disease and stroke. It also said fewer deaths from cancer and other illnesses contributed to pushing up the average lifespan.
The ministry expects that if medical technology further advances, the life expectancy will be more extended. Japan has long boasted one of the world's longest-living populations since 1947, when the ministry started recording the statistics.
Japanese women had maintained the longest life span in the globe for the 26 straight years till 2010, but they fell behind Hong Kong women in 2011, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami hit the country, which killed nearly 19,000 people.