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More than 100k people in Japan are now aged 100 or older

217 points · 282 comments · karakoram

  1. EagleEdge · · focus · HN ↗
    We have travelled for about a month in Japan last year. They work under constant stress, lots of commute on public transit. I also did not feel their food was that healthy, lots of fried food and sweets. But the portion is small compared to what we would normally eat in a meal.
    1. anyfoo · · focus · HN ↗
      Did you actually visit Japanese families, or is that assessment based on what you saw in convenience stores and similar? "Convenience" food and western style food has somewhat increased, but on average Japanese cuisine is very healthy.

      I also agree on the stressful work part, but don't quite understand what you mean with "lots of commute on public transit". If you mean the Tokyo-style rush hour traffic where people are literally shoved into the train car, of course that's stressful. But at any other time apart from that, Japan's public transit is enormously soothing and stress-free, both because of culture and transit technology.

      1. EagleEdge · · focus · HN ↗
        Day in day out, everyday in public transit, just sheer noise would not add any lifetime. We stayed at our Japanese friend’s house so we did have exposure to their everyday life. The point I want to make is that many things contribute to a long life, and of course Japanese people are doing most of those things right, regardless of what that might be. I remember watching a documentary about Okinawa people. One thing they mentioned was laughter.
        1. anyfoo · · focus · HN ↗
          I grew up in Germany. For the past 13 years, I've lived in the US. Oh, how I wish I could go back to the "day in day out, everyday in public transit" instead of this car hell. In Germany, just like in Japan, I didn't feel that it was noisy at all. It was clean and quiet and soothing, I could just sit there and relax. Everyone takes public transport, across all income ranges.

          As a result, public life itself is more quiet and soothing, because you are not constantly surrounded by cars, even if just sitting outside a café.

          As for the family you stayed at, they must eat differently from the Japanese families I know personally. Studies agree: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.livescience.com&#x2F;54133-japanese-diet-longer-life.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.livescience.com&#x2F;54133-japanese-diet-longer-life.... <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;chns.cpc.unc.edu&#x2F;resources&#x2F;publications&#x2F;bib&#x2F;2884&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;chns.cpc.unc.edu&#x2F;resources&#x2F;publications&#x2F;bib&#x2F;2884&#x2F;

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