Japan's annual total of deaths hits record 1.56 mln in 2022

TOKYO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Total deaths in Japan reached a record of 1.56 million in 2022, up nearly 9 percent from the previous year, the country's health ministry has said.

Recently released demographic data for 2022 showed deaths in Japan reached 1,568,961, rising by more than 129,000, or 8.9 percent, from 2021, according to the health ministry.

The latest total, the highest since the country began compiling such statistics in 1899, has increased by 50 percent over the last 20 years, the figures showed.

The leading cause of death in 2022 was cancer, with about 386,000 cases, or 24.6 percent of the total, followed by heart disease, with some 233,000 deaths, or 14.8 percent of the total.

Deaths by natural causes totaled about 180,000, an increase of about 27,000 from the previous year.

A total of 47,635 people died from COVID-19 last year.

The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research forecasts that Japan's annual deaths will continue to rise until they peak in 2040 at 1.67 million.