A report issued by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 25th July, shows that the life expectancy of Japanese women and men declined in 2005 for the first time in six years. Japanese life expectancy had risen steadily since 1947, when the health ministry began keeping the data.

The latest figures show that women lived an average of 85.49 years, while men lived an average of 78.53 years. In 2004, life expectancy was 85.59 years for Japanese women and 78.64 years for men, both record highs.

Japanese women had the highest longevity in the world for the 21st year in a row in 2005, followed by women from Hong Kong and Spain, but Japanese men dropped to fourth place from second in 2004. Hong Kong had the longest-lived men, followed by Iceland and Switzerland.

The report shows that cancer remains the leading cause of death for both men and women in Japan, followed by heart disease and stroke.