The take: Japan’s longevity is a win, but it strains budgets until incentives change.

What happened: On September 12, 2025, Japan’s health ministry reported 99,763 people aged 100 and above, 88% of whom are women. The figures were released just before Respect for the Aged Day, which falls on 15 September, Japan’s national holiday to honour seniors.

Why it matters: With fewer workers supporting more retirees, Japan is on track to reach approximately 79 seniors per 100 workers by 2050.

What to watch: The draft 2026 budget in December and upcoming OECD labour updates will show moves on childcare, skilled migration, and later retirement.

Japan’s silver cup for new 100-year-olds is now silver-plated. At 100, you’ve earned the right to complain.

Japan’s centenarian pageantry hides a workforce crunch.

On 12 Sep 2025, the government announced 99,763 people aged 100 or more.
Ceremonies followed on 15 Sep for Respect for the Aged Day.

The gifts and headlines grabbed attention.
But the real story is the retiree-to-worker ratio tightening every year.

Ceremonies are the photo. Budgets are the load-bearing wall.

Toast the 100 club as the workforce struggles to fund the system.

Cities bask in longevity PR, as care homes struggle to hire and families struggle to find affordable childcare.

The viral picture is not the cup. It is the shrinking bench of working-age people behind it.

This newsletter? It’s powered by the platform built for growth, monetization, and jaw-droppingly good reader experiences.

From sponsorships that actually pay you fairly to referral programs that grow your list on autopilot, beehiiv gives publishers, creators, and writers the tools to grow their newsletter like never before. And yeah, it is just that easy.

Power your content with beehiiv

• Pro: Longer lives are a civilisational win. Older workers and robots can extend productive years.

• Con: Fewer workers per retiree means higher taxes, strained pensions, and small-firm bankruptcies.

• Our read: Celebrate longevity and fix incentives — childcare at scale, targeted migration, and later-life work beats pretending cups pay bills.

[PDF] OECD — “Addressing demographic headwinds in Japan” (2024): On today’s policy settings, the population is projected to decline by 45% by 2100 and employment by 52%; it quantifies the “do nothing” path. OECD

Japan’s 65+ share hit 29.4% of the population.

• [Report] Asahi AJW: Prefecture leaderboard — Shimane 168.69 per 100,000; Saitama last. Good map for context. 朝日新聞
• [Report] MHLW Life Tables 2024: the hard numbers behind “world-leading longevity.” Bookmark it. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
• [Analysis] Reuters: firms flag labour shortages; bankruptcies trending toward decade highs. The business end of ageing. Reuters

Join your team of caffeinated skeptics.
One take, one counter, one receipt.
Six minutes.

As an expat living in Vietnam for over 13 years, I’m always missing my favourite TV programmes from back home.

Whether it’s the latest Match of the Day on iPlayer or a comedy series on the UK’s Netflix, I have to use a VPN to access my British TV hit.

After being a customer for over 3 years, SurfShark is the only VPN I trust. It’s reliable, safe, and works anywhere.

Get 3 months FREE with my link: https://surfshark.club/friend/WMz5QGv9

Send It: If you enjoyed today’s episode of Curse and Coffee, share it with your fellow skeptics. Here’s the link: https://curseandcoffee.com/

Does crypto/Web3 intrigue you?

Are you worried about losing money or getting scammed?

This course is for you!

Click to share (2 referrals get you free access to our very own crypto mastery email course).

Everything you need to unlock crypto in 5 days (for beginners only).

For the love of coffee, see you tomorrow!