Japan passes Italy as most elderly nation
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Japan said Friday it had surpassed Italy as the world&#039;s most elderly nation, fueling concerns over the effects of a rapidly aging population on the world&#039;s second-largest economy.
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The number of Japanese aged 100 or older is set to top 23,000 by the end of September, up 12 percent from a year earlier, in another sign of the nation's rapid transition to a greying society, officials said.
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Thousands of elderly people who live  alone in Tokyo have little social contact and face the prospect  of a lonely death, according to a survey by an association of  hospitals published this week.
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Japan&#39;s new prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda,  won nearly 60 percent support in the first public opinion poll  published since the seasoned moderate took office, double that  of his predecessor.
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NEW YORK  - After the age of 80, carrying a few extra pounds may not subtract years from your lifespan, a new study from Japan shows.
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Northern Europe and key Asian countries remained home to the most competitive economies worldwide, cementing their ranks among the top 10 in an annual survey of business leaders by the World Economic Forum. Finland retained the top spot for the third time in the last four years, followed by the United States.
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China is aging. According to statistics, citizens aged 60 and about account for nearly 11 percent of its 1.3 billion people. China is focusing on improving its insurance system to cope with the aging population
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Shinzo Abe, an advocate of tighter ties   with Washington and a bigger say for Japan in world affairs,   was elected Japan's prime minister by parliament on Tuesday,   becoming at 52 the youngest Japanese leader since World War   Two.
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China is closing fast on Japan and is likely to overtake it this year as the world&#39;s No. 3 trading nation behind the United States and Germany, new figures show.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi leaves behind a legacy of sweeping economic and political reforms.
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NEW YORK  - Elderly individuals who maintain higher levels of physical activity have better survival rates after a heart attack and subsequent angiography to clear the coronary arteries, researchers in Italy and the U.S. suggest.
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The number of Japanese who killed  themselves edged down last year but stayed above 30,000 as it  has for nearly a decade, with suicides among the elderly rising  to account for more than a third of the total, police said on  Thursday.
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Japan's economy has marked its longest economic expansion since World War II, according to a government report released yesterday.
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Japan&#39;s Cabinet on Monday endorsed a draft 82.18 trillion yen (US$788.7 billion; euro594.62 billion) national budget for fiscal 2005, increasing overall spending to care for an aging population but trimming general and defense outlays.
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Japan&#39;s Cabinet has approved an 82.18 trillion yen (US$793 billion; euro587 billion) draft national budget for fiscal 2005, boosting overall spending to support its rapidly aging population and pay interest on the government&#39;s massive
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Nationalist Shinzo Abe, a proponent of a tight alliance with the United States and a more assertive military, won election as Japan's new prime minister Tuesday, scoring comfortable majorities in both houses.
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Japanâs military is one of the best-equipped in Asia and its economy is the worldâs second largest. It spreads its wealth around the world generously with foreign aid.