1. In terms of the sexes, Japanese females rank fourth at 85.59 years (after Macau, Hong Kong and San Marino at 87.45, 84.69 and 85.64, respectively), whereas Japanese men rank fifth at 78.73 years (after Macau, Andorra, Singapore and Hong Kong at 81.36, 80.35, 79.29 and 79.07, respectively). Note that there have been constant changes in these ranking over the years, with Iceland for a very long time consistently at the top. See Figures A1 and A2 in the Appendix,The World Bank. (2008) World Development Indicators 08. Washington DC: World Bank, and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_ecpctancy
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2. See El-Agraa, A.M. (ed.) (2007) The European Union: Economics and Policies. Cambridge, New York and other places: Cambridge University Press, The eighth edition of The Economics of the European Community, which was published in 1980 by Philip Allan of Oxford and translated into Chinese (in November 1985) by Professor Dai Bing Ran, and several others, of Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. of China. There, you will find an elaboration on this point and the fallacies regarding Japan being considered special in this context, including the claims about Japanese food being accredited for the county's longevity. For example, Japanese life expectancy is highest in Okinawa where the main diet is pork and the gap between Japanese female and male life expectancies is the widest in the world.
3. As reported in all the media. See, for example, the Mainichi Daily News, 31 December 2008.
4. Japan offers an extra tax reduction for having more than one child, but the amount is miniscule when the costs of raising a child continue to skyrocket in Japan. A full discussion of the reasons for these high costs for the period up to 1987 is available in El-Agraa, A.M. (1988) Japan's Trade Frictions: Realities or Misconceptions? Basingstoke and New York: Macmillan; St. Martins Press, However, the basic elements given there remain fully valid today.
5. The payment of pension contributions is mandatory for all Japanese from age 20 to 60.