Japanese women's lifespan longest in the world for 24th straight year

Jul 16 06:43 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, July 16 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Japanese women had the world's longest lifespan for the 24th consecutive year in 2008 with an average life expectancy of 86.05 years, a health ministry report released Thursday showed.

Japanese men, along with their female compatriots, saw their average life expectancy reach a record high for the third consecutive year at 79.29 years but fell to fourth in the world from third in 2007.

Iceland topped the men's list with 84.3 years, and Hong Kong and Switzerland shared second at 79.4. Hong Kong women came second with 85.5 years, followed by France at 84.3, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

The ministry attributed the growing lifespan of the Japanese people mainly to improved medial treatment and care that have led to decreases in the death rates associated with cancer, heart diseases and strokes, which are considered the three major causes of death in the country.

The ministry also cited a decline in the number of fatal traffic accidents in 2008.

The lifespan grew by 0.06 year from 2007 for Japanese women and 0.10 for Japanese men, according to the ministry report.