日本女性、冰島男性壽命最長

Japanese girls born last year can expect to live to an average age of 85.8 years, making them the longest-lived in the world, according to figures released by the government on Thursday.

Their male compatriots fare less well, with a life expectancy of 79 years, second to Icelandic men at 79.4 years, the Health Ministry said.

Japan's women have topped the world's longevity ranks for 22 consecutive years, something researchers have attributed to their healthy diet and tight social ties.

Improved treatment of the ageing population's three biggest killers -- cancer, heart disease and stroke-- has helped push life expectancy to record highs, a ministry official said.

After the Japanese, Taiwanese women are the world's second longest-lived at 84.6 years, then Spanish and Swiss women at 83.9 years, the report said.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists Japan's 114-year-old Yone Minagawa and 111-year-old Tomoji Tanabe, as the world's oldest person and oldest man, respectively.

But increasing life expectancy and a scarcity of babies in Japan have fuelled concern about how the world's oldest society will fund its pension requirements.

據日本政府本周四公布的統計數據，日本女性的平均預期壽命為85.8歲，是世界上壽命最長的人群。

據日本衛生省介紹，日本男性的平均壽命為79歲，僅次于冰島男性的79.4歲，位居世界第二。

日本女性的平均壽命連續22年名列世界之首，一些研究人員認為，這主要歸功于她們健康的飲食和緊密的社會聯系。

據日本衛生省官員介紹，癌癥、心臟病和中風是老年人健康的三大殺手，這三大疾病治療手段的進步使人們的預期壽命達到新高。

統計報告顯示，臺灣女性的平均壽命為84.6歲，位居世界第二；其次是西班牙和瑞士女性，為83.9歲。

據《吉尼斯世界紀錄大全》記載，目前世界上壽命最長的人和壽命最長的男性分別是日本114歲的皆川米子和111歲的田鍋友時。

但日本預期壽命的不斷延長和新生兒數量的不足引起了有關這個世界上老齡化最嚴重的國家將如何解決其養老金問題的擔憂。