Photo/Illutration Residents of Asao Ward in Kawasaki warm up before going on a group walking trip. (Yoshikazu Sato)

KAWASAKI--For a city perhaps better known as an industrial hub with belching smokestacks, it may come as a surprise that a leafy residential area in its far western corner has the highest average life expectancy in Japan.

For the first time, Asao Ward in 2020 ranked No. 1 in the category among the nation’s wards, cities, towns and villages for both men and women, according to health ministry calculations. And the secret may lie in the area’s unusually large number of hospitals, strong community spirit and steep slopes.

Although only a roughly 20-minute ride by rapid express train on the Odakyu Line from Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku, Asao Ward still boasts a natural environment. Of the seven wards in Kawasaki, Asao has the highest ratio of home ownership. Many single-family homes have large yards.

Many residents point to the large number of slopes in the ward, which, for those who enjoy a brisk walk, help build up lower body strength and maintain overall health.

A height difference of about 100 meters exists between the northern and southern parts of the ward.

“If one goes downhill, then one has to go uphill,” noted 91-year-old resident Fujio Narasaki. “That is the kind of community it is here.”

As part of its activities, the ward government organizes walking trips for local residents that take advantage of the topography.

On May 17, for example, 20 or so senior residents gathered at a park for some stretching exercises before departing for a group walk.

With a population of around 180,000, Asao’s men in 2020 had an average life expectancy of 84, while the life expectancy for women was 89.2.

Aside from walking trips, the ward government organizes other events to help residents maintain their health, including sports and cultural activities at facilities in front of major train stations.

“While we are not certain what the reason is for the longevity, we are trying to promote a community that is easy to live for senior citizens and which maintains personal ties between them,” said Ryoko Fujiwara, a local government official.

The ward also boasts several major hospitals, including St. Marianna University Hospital.

“Many residents have a primary care doctor and I have never felt inconvenienced about using a hospital,” said Asao Ward resident Keita Mitomo, 81.

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The Asahi Shimbun

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Tatsuaki Takano, a professor of elderly care welfare at Toyo University, pointed to a WHO study which said health is influenced by social circumstances.

“In addition to such factors as ample medical care and income, communities where there are abundant ties among residents tend to have a lower risk of needing elderly care services,” Takano said. “Such communities are likely to have longer life expectancies."

At the other end of the scale, Nishinari Ward in Osaka city, had the lowest life expectancy for men for the fifth straight time and the lowest for women for the third straight time.

Parts of the ward are populated by day laborers who often live in flophouses.

According to an Osaka city official, in fiscal 2020, only 17.4 percent of residents took a specified health check, about half the ratio of the national average. The ward also has high ratios of residents with tuberculosis and smokers.

“Various factors overlap, so the only thing we can do is continue with persistent efforts to deal with each factor,” said a Nishinari ward official said.

Among prefectures, Aomori in northern Japan has the lowest life expectancy, and seven municipalities in the prefecture were in the bottom 10 for life expectancy among men and six in the bottom 10 for women.

Takano said a move away from the primary industry in the Tohoku region resulted in many communities becoming depopulated.

“With the graying of the population, personal ties become weaker among residents, and combined with a high-salt diet and low incomes, the life expectancy shortens,” Takano said.

He added that there were limits to what local governments could do and said the central government had to take the initiative to resolve regional income disparities and raise pension levels.

(This article was written by Yoshikazu Sato and Takaoki Yamamoto.)

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