Genes and Antiaging Medicine: Genomes and Longevity

The average lifespan of Japanese people announced by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2021 is 81.47 years for men and 87.57 years for women, making Japan the third longest-lived country for men and the first for women. The population of centenarians, those over 100 years old, is also on the rise, from just 153 people in 1963 to 90,256 nationwide as of September 2022. The “genetic program theory,” which posits that lifespan is determined by the genome, has long been known as one of the twin pillars of gerontology, based on twin studies and the existence of long-lived families. The four daughters of Gin Kanie, known as “Kin-san and Gin-san,” famous centenarian twins featured in TV commercials, are also long-lived, ranging in age from 95 to 108 (including those still alive), which is considered a good example of the existence of longevity genes. In the Guinness Book of Records, the longest lifespan is held by Jeanne-Louise Calment of France, who lived for 122 years and 164 days. The second longest is Rikiko Tanaka of Japan, who lived for 119 years and 107 days, and the longest for a man is Jiroemon Kimura of Japan, who lived for 116 years and 54 days.