Japan's centenarians increase to new record of over 99,000, up 4,600

The number of Japan's centenarians grew for the 55th straight year to a record 99,763, the government said Friday.The number of those aged 100 or above is estimated to increase by 4,644 from a year earlier as of Sept. 15, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which released the data ahead of Monday's Respect for the Aged Day holiday.Women accounted for about 88 percent of the total, at 87,784, while the number of male centenarians stood at 11,979.The oldest person was Shigeko Kagawa, a 114-year-old woman in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture. The oldest man in the country was…READ FULL ARTICLE