Japan's centenarian population has surpassed 100,000 for the first time, with government data showing 107,677 people aged 100 or older this year — a 56th consecutive annual record. The milestone comes as the country faces a worsening demographic imbalance: the fertility rate fell to a historic low of 1.14 in 2025, and more people aged 95 or above are now alive than babies being born each year. Japan's shrinking workforce is under growing strain to fund rising pension and healthcare costs, while labour shortages, declining rural communities, and political resistance to large-scale immigration leave few easy remedies in sight.