Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan has been reported as having the highest estimated healthy life expectancy for both men and women as of 2022, according to data released by Japan’s health ministry on Tuesday. Men in Shizuoka are estimated to live an average of 73.75 years in good health, while women in the region have an average healthy life expectancy of 76.68 years.
In contrast, Iwate Prefecture ranked at the bottom of the list for both sexes, with men living an average of 70.93 years and women reaching 74.28 years in good health. These figures highlight a noticeable disparity across Japan’s 47 prefectures.
The health ministry conducts a survey every three years to estimate healthy life expectancy, which measures the period of life lived without significant health problems. The latest estimate, marking the fifth such report, shows a slight decline of 0.11 years for men’s healthy life expectancy, bringing the national average to 72.57 years. In contrast, the estimate for women increased by 0.07 years, reaching 75.45 years.
National life expectancy averages remain high, with men living an average of 81.05 years and women living 87.09 years. However, the gap between total life expectancy and healthy life expectancy continues to shrink. For men, the difference has reduced by 0.24 years to 8.49 years, while for women, it shrank by 0.43 years to 11.63 years since the 2019 estimate.
In addition to Shizuoka, other prefectures with notable healthy life expectancies for men include Ishikawa at 73.60 years and Yamanashi at 73.47 years. For women, Yamaguchi led with 76.43 years, followed by Gifu at 76.20 years.
The disparity in healthy life expectancy between the top and bottom-ranked prefectures for men has grown slightly, from 2.79 years in the first survey to 2.82 years in 2022. For women, the gap has narrowed from 2.95 years to 2.40 years over the same period.
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