Today, that longevity has been turned on its head. Life expectancy for both men and women is expected to tumble again when the results of a new study, conducted every five years, are released in the coming months.
In the last study, for 2020, Okinawan men were in 43rd position for longevity for Japan’s 47 prefectures, a sharp decline from first place in 1985.
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Okinawan women topped the longevity charts on seven occasions between 1975 and 2005. By 2020, however, they had slipped out of the top 10 for the first time since records started in 1965 and were languishing in 16th place.
Older Okinawans blame the decline on a range of changes in the community and fear that the prefecture is unlikely to regain its former status.
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