In Japanese culture, the 88th birthday, or “Beiju” (米寿), is known as the long life celebration. Beiju is a play on the kanji characters for rice and 88. “Bei” (rice米) is important in Japanese society because it sustains life and represents purity and wholesomeness.
In Japan,your 99th birthday is considered your "white" birthday. This is a play on kanji. If you subtract the Kanji for one (一) from the kanji for one hundred (百) you get the kanji for white (白). Therefore, 99 is considered a special "white" birthday.
In our culture, the 88th birthday deserves a special celebration. This is because the Japanese characters for 88, when written together, resemble the character for rice. Rice was respected because it was our livelihood and symbolized purity and goodness. Therefore the 88th birthday is a happy and joyous celebration.
Old age is something to honor in Japan. Some particularly important Japanese birthdays are 60, 70, 77, 80, 88, 90, and 120. There are special colors, symbols, and meanings behind each of the ages, much like the way wedding anniversaries are marked in western cultures.
Japan has several birthdays which are considered to have special meanings. The third, fifth, and seventh birthdays are the occasions of shichi-go-san (七五三), a festival for three and seven-year-old girls and five-year-old boys.
In Japan, the two main lucky numbers are seven (七) and eight (八). Curiously, unlike four, the reasons behind the two's luck have nothing to do with their pronunciation. Seven is a lucky number in Japan largely because of its significance in Buddhism. Additionally, seven is used with the Seven Gods of Luck (七福神).
The traditional Japanese age system is one method of calculating age. A child is counted as one year old at birth, and every January 1st after that counts as a year older. This method of counting the age of a person is called Kazoedoshi, or simply, Kazoe.
The age of adulthood in Japan was lowered from 20 to 18 on April 1, 2022. This makes it possible for 18- or 19-year-olds to sign a smartphone contract or take out a loan without parental consent, but also means that they need to take responsibility for such decisions.
In an international comparison of recent mortality statistics among G7 countries, Japan had the longest average life expectancy, primarily due to remarkably low mortality rates from ischemic heart disease and cancer (particularly breast and prostate).
According to 2014 estimates, about 38% of the Japanese population is above the age of 60, 25.9% are age 65 or above, a figure that increased to 29.1% by 2022. People aged 65 and older in Japan make up a quarter of the total population and are estimated to reach a third of the population by 2050.
Number 88 symbolizes fortune and good luck in Chinese culture, since the word 8 sounds similar to the word fā (發, which implies 發財, or wealth, in Mandarin or Cantonese). The number 8 is considered to be the luckiest number in Chinese culture, and prices in Chinese supermarkets often contain many 8s.
December 25 (Christmas Day) is the least common birthday, while January 1 (New Year's Day) is the second least common. December 24 (Christmas Eve) also makes the list as the 3rd least common birthday while July 4 (Independence Day) is the 4th least common birthday.
(slang, text messaging, Internet slang) bye-bye.
Municipal governments host special coming-of-age ceremonies for 20-year-olds, since an "adult" in Japan is legally defined as one who is 20 or over. In Japan, the legal smoking and drinking age is 20. But along with these rights come new responsibilities as well, and so age 20 is a big turning point for the Japanese.
In a country that is as technologically and medically advanced as Japan, individuals are able to live exceptionally long lives. In fact, Japan has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world. In large part, this contributes to Japan's notoriety for respecting their elders.
An increase of 4,000 meant that the number of centenarians in Japan topped 90,000 for the first time as of September 2022.
Asian-Americans top the list at 86.5 years, with Latinos following closely behind at 82.8 years. Third of the five groups are Caucasians, with an average life expectancy of about 78.9 years, followed by Native Americans at 76.9 years. The final group, African Americans, has a life expectancy of 74.6 years.
Under the Japanese Civil Code the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years for boys and 16 years for girls. A person who is under 20 years of age cannot get married in Japan without parental approval. From 2022, the legal age of marriage for girls and boys will be 18 years.
East Asia. First-cousin marriage is allowed in Japan, though the incidence has declined in recent years.
Age of Consent in China
The age of consent in mainland China is 14 years old. China's two special administrative regions, Macau and Hong Kong, have their own local age of consent laws. Like China, Macau's age of consent is 14 years old. The age of consent in Hong Kong is 16 years old.
It has the highest proportion of older persons in the world. Its move towards a super-aged society is due to a combination of demographic factors, including very low fertility rates and a steady increase in life expectancy that is enabled by advances in medical science and improved nutrition and living conditions.
According to Japan demographics survey data from 2016, Japan boasts a long life expectancy with men averaging at 80.79 years and women at 87.05 years.
This traditional method, which will be replaced by the system used elsewhere in the world in June 2023, declares people a year old at birth and adds a year to their age every Jan. 1 — even if they were born just the day before.