Recent figures released by the government of Japan indicate that Japanese women are among the longest lived population groups in the world, with Icelandic men coming in first in the male rankings.
Girls born in Japan last year have the highest life expectancy in the world and should live an average of 85.8 years. Boys, on the other hand, will die after only 79 years. Even Icelandic men are significantly behind the women from Japan, averaging a lifespan of 79.4 years.
Officials from Japan say that life expectancy worldwide has risen in the past years to record highs as humans tackle major killers like cancer, heart disease and strokes. Japan has consistently led the long-lived, ranking first for 22 years. No one can be sure as to exactly what contributes to this, but it has been suggested that the healthy Japanese diet and close social ties among Japanese are contributing factors.
The report released by the Japanese government did not speculate as to what caused Icelandic men to live longer than men in other countries.
The top four countries in terms of life span for women are Japan and Taiwan with Spain and Switzerland tied for third place.