My friend argues yes, and that in the past, we would be a snake bite away from death.
However, in reality, for every person who lives long like in Japan, there would be many children dying in war torn countries, in countries where children are exploited, such as gold mining in Lombok where they suffer mercury poisoning.
Even in the US itself, a major post-industrialised country, people are dying from contaminated water and shooting.
There is food, medical and infrastructure advancement indeed. However, the person who lives long merely unknowingly steals his credit from many others who are denied access to the same advancement.
Keching 