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What Is the Japanese Secret to Anti-Aging? It's Not a Face Cream
By Teemu Arina · · Updated
The Japanese secret to anti-aging is not one food, supplement or skincare product, but a set of everyday habits. Speakers at HOLOLIFE Summit 2025 Tokyo and Biohacker Summit 2022 Helsinki discussed prevention, plant foods, biological rhythms, relationships and purpose, without showing that any one habit explains Japanese longevity. Some ideas have evidence relevant to ageing; others are cultural principles needing direct testing.
What is the Japanese secret to anti-aging? Everyday habits
At HOLOLIFE Summit 2025 Tokyo, Teemu Arina described biohacking as supporting health and prevention in daily life, not just clinics, and cautioned against treating longevity as a pursuit of perfection or immortality.
Teemu Arina
"Health optimization is not about sickness or illness; it's about prevention and living a good life right now in this moment."
— Teemu Arina, HOLOLIFE Summit 2025
Arina pointed to Japan's mix of traditional practices, including ikigai, onsen bathing and forest bathing, with modern health technology. The value of a practice depends on whether it suits someone and is sustainable. The talks neither compare Japanese people with other populations nor prove any custom increases lifespan; they offer themes such as varied eating, daily rhythms, movement and close relationships.
Eating to 80% full: hara hachi bu, soy, fish and fermented foods
Hara hachi bu is often presented as an Okinawan longevity rule. None of the cited talks or papers tests it, so it is not a proven explanation for Okinawan or Japanese longevity.
Caloric restriction evidence is relevant but indirect. A review of caloric restriction mechanisms discusses possible mechanisms behind its anti-aging and prolongevity effects, drawing on studies of genetically modified animals. A review of cardiovascular effects discusses vascular protection and cardioprotection. Neither shows that a particular eating rule has the same effects in people.
Pausing during a meal is not strict restriction: one could eat without rushing and notice when hunger eases, rather than aim for a precise percentage. Anyone with a history of disordered eating or a condition affected by food intake should seek individual advice first.
Soy, fish and fermented foods are associated with Japanese meals, but these sources do not test their effects on ageing.
Green tea, natto and wild greens: the phytochemicals behind the plate
The cited talks and papers do not establish that green tea or natto slow ageing. Prof. Mauri Åhlberg's Biohacker Summit 2022 Helsinki talk offered a broader approach: eat varied plant foods rather than isolated compounds.
Phytochemicals promote health in small amounts, working together and increasing their impact synergistically. This is why it is better to eat them in real plants rather than condensed versions.
— Prof. Mauri Åhlberg, Biohacker Summit 2022
Åhlberg discussed plant-produced compounds, edible wild plants including Japanese knotweed, and resveratrol, without proving these prevent disease or extend human life. He also cautioned:
Tradition itself is not a guarantee that plants are good.
— Prof. Mauri Åhlberg, Biohacker Summit 2022
Wild plants can be hard to identify safely, and the talk emphasised the need for experimental research. Eat varied, familiar vegetables, fruit, herbs and other plant foods; foraging is unnecessary.
Japanese Chrono Trigger: living in rhythm with time, light and hormones
The illustration shows daylight, night and daily routines arranged in a changing rhythm.
In "Japanese Chrono Trigger: Rethinking Time and Longevity" at HOLOLIFE Summit 2025 Tokyo, Tateki Matsuda contrasted controlling time with responding to natural rhythms, citing traditional Japanese timekeeping such as the wadokei, which followed changing environmental rhythms.
He named sleep quality, strength training, sunlight exposure and weight management as factors relevant to testosterone, and discussed circadian and longer biological rhythms, arguing one fixed routine may not suit everyone. This points to routines suited to individual circumstances, rather than pursuing hormone targets without medical guidance. On novelty, he said:
Tateki Matsuda
Time is not absolute; novelty expands subjective time, so when you stop noticing, you stop stretching the time.
— Tateki Matsuda, HOLOLIFE Summit 2025
A new walking route or attention-demanding skill may make days feel less repetitive, though not necessarily slow biological ageing. Matsuda's message was to live in step with time rather than optimise every hour.
Ikigai, community and everyday movement as longevity habits
Arina described health as including social and spiritual life, linking living well with contributing to others:
"Living a healthy life is about more than the individual; it's about how you treat others and contribute to the world beyond yourself."
— Teemu Arina, HOLOLIFE Summit 2025
Matsuda also emphasised close relationships:
"Good relationships make people happy and healthy; the clearest factor in a satisfying life is time spent with loved ones."
— Tateki Matsuda, HOLOLIFE Summit 2025
These talks describe perspectives on ikigai and relationships; they do not establish that either alone extends lifespan. A 2022 study of older Japanese adults describes evidence linking dog ownership with protection against disability onset. It is an association and cannot show that owning a dog prevents disability. A pet is optional: walking with someone, joining a group activity or building movement into errands combines activity and social contact.
Where traditional wisdom meets modern biohacking
Arina advised building habits that work in one's own life rather than copying another person's routine:
"True mastery doesn't come from imitation; it comes from creating your own art and applying your skills in real situations."
— Teemu Arina, HOLOLIFE Summit 2025
Traditional practices can be adapted in the same way, such as a varied diet or steady daily rhythm, rather than treated as universal prescriptions.
The evidence depends on the practice. A 2005 laboratory study of Kangen-karyu extract examined the extract in human fibroblasts exposed to hydrogen peroxide. This cell-culture work does not show the formula slows ageing in people; traditional remedies should be judged by the strength and type of evidence.
HOLOLIFE Summit 2026 Amsterdam takes place on 14–15 November 2026.
A practical week of Japanese-style anti-aging habits
Aim for manageable changes. Arina said:
"Doing something is better than doing nothing—figuring out the twenty percent that results in eighty percent of improvement is already good enough."
— Teemu Arina, HOLOLIFE Summit 2025
- Monday, Eat with attention: Put screens away for one meal and notice when comfortably satisfied; this is attention, not restriction.
- Tuesday, Add plant variety: Try a less familiar vegetable, fruit or herb; Åhlberg's talk supports variety, not a food list.
- Wednesday, Set a daily rhythm: Choose a regular wind-down time and sleep routine that fits your life.
- Thursday, Build strength: Add a strength session or other suitable movement; Matsuda named strength training among factors relevant to hormonal health.
- Friday, Seek novelty: Try a new walking route or learn something unfamiliar.
- Saturday, Make time for others: Share a meal, walk or call with someone you care about.
- Sunday, Reflect: Consider what gave the week purpose and which habits are worth repeating.
FAQ
What do Japanese people do for anti-aging?
These sources identify no single Japanese secret to anti-ageing. Speakers discussed prevention, plant variety, rhythms, movement, relationships and purpose, without proving these explain Japan's longevity.
Does green tea really slow ageing?
The cited talks and papers do not test this. Åhlberg advised eating varied, whole plant foods rather than concentrated extracts.
Why do Okinawans live so long?
These sources do not investigate Okinawan longevity or identify a single cause. The cited studies address narrower topics, not population lifespan differences.
What does hara hachi bu mean, and does it work?
It is an eating practice often associated with Okinawa. The cited papers concern caloric restriction, not hara hachi bu, and do not prove it extends life.
Is Japanese skincare or diet more important for looking younger?
The sources do not compare the two. A double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial in middle-aged Japanese women found topical retinol improved photoaged facial skin, but it concerns skincare, not diet or lifestyle.
Sources
Papers
- Mechanisms of the anti-aging and prolongevity effects of caloric restriction
- Cardiovascular protection afforded by caloric restriction
- Dog ownership and onset of disability in older Japanese adults
- Topical retinol for photoaged skin in middle-aged Japanese women
- Kangen-karyu and markers of cellular ageing in human fibroblasts
Talks
- Talk: "Wild Edible Plants for Health & Longevity", Prof. Mauri Åhlberg, Biohacker Summit 2022.
- Talk: "State of the Biohacking and Health Optimization Industry", Teemu Arina, HOLOLIFE Summit 2025.
- Talk: "Japanese Chrono Trigger: Rethinking Time and Longevity", Tateki Matsuda, HOLOLIFE Summit 2025.
This article is for general information and is not medical advice.
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