Japanese ladies retake top spot in life expectancy rankings

Women in Japan have once again taken the top position in terms of women's average life span in 2012, a year after stepping down to the second spot behind Hong Kong, it was revealed on Thursday.

In an annual report, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that the average life span for Japanese women stood at 86.41 years, up 0.51 from the previous year, the Japan Times reported.

However, Hong Kong women had topped the rankings at 86.70 years in 2011.

The report also showed that Japanese men's average life span was 79.94 years in 2012, up 0.50 from a year earlier and fifth-longest in the world.

The average life spans of both women and men showed the first increase in three years.

In 2011, the average life spans of both men and women reduced because many people died due to the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami disaster, that devastated many municipalities along the Tohoku region coast.

Average life expectancy is the expected number of years of life for babies born in a given year.

In Japan, the likelihood of babies born in 2012 dying from the three main causes of death - cancer, heart disease and stroke - surpassed 50 percent for men but was below 50 percent for women.

It is likely that the standard life expectancy would go up by 7.37 years for men and 6.17 years for women, provided cures were discovered for the three diseases.

A ministry official said that as mortality rates fall thanks to advances in medical research, average life expectancies are likely to rise further.