The overall number of centenarians in Japan will increase 3,981 from last year, with male ones up 450 to 5,063 to reach the 5,000 level for the first time.
The number of female centenarians will be up 3,531 to 31,213.
The number of male centenarians is expected to set a record for the 28th straight year and that of female ones for the 38th year, according to the survey compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare ahead of Respect for the Aged Day next Monday.
Women continue to make up the vast majority of centenarians, accounting for 86.0 percent.
The oldest Japanese is a woman aged 113, who lives in Okinawa Prefecture. The ministry has not disclosed her name because of her family's request.
On Sept. 1, the ministry tallied the number of people in the country's 47 prefectures who are already or expected to be centenarians by the end of the month.
The oldest male is Tomoji Tanabe in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, who will turn 113 next Thursday. Tanabe has been listed as the world's oldest man by the Guinness Book of Records since January 2007.
The proportion of centenarians per 100,000 people averages 28.39 across Japan.
By prefecture, Okinawa has the largest proportion of centenarians with 61.03 per 100,000 people, maintaining the top position for the 36th straight year. It is followed by Shimane with 58.82, Kochi with 54.09, Kumamoto with 47.26 and Kagoshima with 46.99.
The top three prefectures remained in the same position for six years in a row through 2007, but Shimane and Kochi swapped spots this year.
Saitama has the lowest proportion of centenarians with 14.22 per 100,000, remaining in the lowest slot for the 19th straight year, followed by Aichi with 17.00, Chiba with 19.17, Aomori with 19.97 and Kanagawa with 20.20.
Centenarians numbered 153 in 1963 in Japan when the government started counting them. The number topped 1,000 in 1981 and 10,000 in 1998.
The ministry said a record 19,768 Japanese nationals, including those who live overseas, will reach 100 by the end of the current fiscal year through March 31, 2009. The number is up 1,990 from the previous fiscal year, with men accounting for 3,056 of them and women 16,712.
