TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan reached a record high of 107,677 in September, climbing for the 56th consecutive year, health ministry data showed Tuesday.

The total number of centenarians grew by 7,914 from the previous year, surpassing the 100,000 threshold for the first time. Women made up 87.6 percent of the cohort with 94,298 people, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.

The figures, compiled based on the basic resident register as of Sept. 1, showed the numbers of centenarian men and women grew by 1,400 and 6,514, respectively. Another 54,294 people will become 100 years old within fiscal 2026, up by 1,984 from the previous year.

"We are pleased that many people are living longer and remaining active thanks in part to advances in medical technology," health minister Kenichiro Ueno said at a press conference.

"As the population continues to age, it is extremely important to make the social security system sustainable," he said.

Japan's social security costs are swelling each year due to its declining birthrate and aging population, putting pressure on public finances, especially since the country's fiscal health is already the worst among major advanced economies.

Fuyo Kishimoto, a 114-year-old Kyoto resident born on Dec. 20, 1911, is the oldest woman, while Hikaru Kato, a 112-year-old man from Kumamoto born on May 2, 1914, is the oldest man in Japan.

The average number of centenarians per 100,000 people in Japan stood at 87.51.

The number of centenarians in Japan was 153 in 1963, when data collection first began. Since 1970, when the number was 310 people, it has increased every year, surpassing 1,000 in 1981, 10,000 in 1998 and 50,000 in 2012.

The average life expectancy in 2025 in Japan was 87.33 for women and 81.35 for men.