Aging Japan eyes cheaper centenary gifts

Japan’s government will no longer reward its centenarian citizens with a silver sake dish worth ¥8,000 ($US 64), saying the growing number of long-lived Japanese are putting a strain on the country’s budget.

More than a quarter of Japan’s 126 million people are aged 65 or over, according to the most recent census, and the proportion is expected to grow to about 40 per cent by the middle of the century. In 2014, 29,357 people received the dishes.

All of that is concerning for government officials, who estimate that 39,000 people will enter their 100s in 2018. The program’s cost: roughly $2.1 million U.S.

The government doesn’t want to leave centenarians unacknowledged altogether though-instead, they’re considering making the sakazuki from a cheaper material or simply sending a congratulatory letter, according to the Times.

Japan’s nationalist prime minister Shinzo Abe is fighting to revive economic expansion through a program of investment, monetary stimulus and structural reform, including encouraging businesses to attract more women to the workforce.

And the cost set to rise as Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

Japan is renowned for the longevity of its’ elders, breaking the world record repeatedly for longest living population.

[The women over 100 who say staying single is a key to their longevity].

Japan’s population is aging rapidly.