Life expectancy (complete)

Reasons for living long

Japan is way up there in life expectancy Averaging a few years above eighty A lot of things contribute to this statistic Like atarashii1 medicine and dietary picks

But these cannot paint the whole picture As to how Japan's place at the top is ensured Developed countries have access to new kusuri2 And world lifestyles are leaning towards healthy

Also take into account the culture of settai3 And of drinking alcohol while still wearing a tie Add to that the prevalence of yakiniku4 tabehoudai5 As well as meals taken with alcohol nomihoudai6

If I were to take a guess based on my personal observations Which by the way does not have any scientifiic connection I would say the main riyuu7 for the long, long lifespan Is staying active in the community and as an individual

I play volleyball regularly with local organizations And sometimes engage in inter-team competitions I'm in my late twenties playing quite competitively With other teams who have senshu8 well over sixty

I also see volunteers for various responsibilities Like helping students walk to school safely Cleaning the neighborhood is another thing That I observe often near the kinjo9 I'm living

These may just be the ramblings of some random person But I genuinely admire how the elderly here function Also please add the low, low crime ritsu10 As another reason for the long, long jumyou11

Notes:

1 Atarashii（新しい）＝ new

2 Kusuri（薬）＝ medicine

3 Settai（接待）＝ business entertainment (for example, taking out clients to drink) 4 Yakiniku（焼肉）＝ grilled meat (usually refers to a type of restaurant where diners order raw meat and cook over charcoal or flame) 5 Tabehoudai（食べ放題）＝ all-you-can-eat 6 Nomihoudai（飲み放題）＝ all-you-can-drink

7 Riyuu（理由）＝ reason

8 Senshu（選手）＝ player

9 Kinjo（近所）＝ neighborhood

10 Ritsu（率）＝ rate 11 Jumyou（寿命）＝ life span