Japanese women's lifespan remains world No. 1

Statistics released by the Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on Thursday showed that the average life expectancy of Japanese women stood at 85.81 years in 2006, remaining the longest in the world for the 22nd year in a row.

Japanese men's average lifespan was 79.00 years in the year, returning to the second spot in the world. It dropped to the fourth in 2005.

As a whole, Japanese people's lifespans improved in 2006 following a dip in 2005, with that of women's and men's rising 0.29 and 0.44 year respectively.

According to the health ministry, cancer, heart disease and stroke are the top three killers in Japan. If the three diseases were overcome, the lifespan of male Japanese would increase by 8.31 to 87.31 years, while that of female would rise by 7.20 to 93.01 years, the ministry said.

Japanese people's average life expectancy is expected to further rise for years to come, Kyodo News quoted ministry official as telling.
Source: Xinhua

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