Life expectancy for Japanese women slipped from the longest in the world to second place because of last year's earthquake and tsunami, dpa quoted the health ministry as saying Thursday. Japanese women held the top spot for 26 years, but they saw their average life expectancy fall 0.4 years in 2011 from a year earlier to 85.9 years, the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry said. Hong Kong women ranked at the top with average life expectancies of 86.7 years, it said. The ministry said the average life expectancy for Japanese men was 79.44 years, down 0.11 from the preceding year, ranking it seventh, level with Italians. Switzerland was the frontrunner for male longevity with average expectancy at 80.2 years. The decline was attributed to the March 2011 disaster, which struck north-eastern Japan, leaving more than 15,800 dead and 2,900 missing. A rise in deaths by suicide also contributed to the drop in the women's longevity ranking, the ministry said.