World's oldest person dies at 116 in Japan
Ms Tomiko Itooka, who had four children and five grandchildren, died on Dec 29 in the nursing home she lived in.PHOTO: AFP
- The world's oldest person, a Japanese woman named Tomiko Itooka, has died at the age of 116, the city where she lived, Ashiya, announced on Jan 4.
Ms Itooka, who had four children and five grandchildren, died on Dec 29 at a nursing home where she had lived since 2019, the southern city's mayor said in a statement.
She was born on May 23, 1908, in the commercial hub of Osaka, near Ashiya – four months before the Ford Model T was launched in the United States.
Ms Itooka was recognised as the oldest person in the world after the August 2024 death of Spain's Maria Branyas Morera at the age of 117.
"Ms Itooka gave us courage and hope through her long life," Ashiya's 27-year-old mayor Ryosuke Takashima said in the statement. "We thank her for it."
Ms Itooka, who was one of three siblings, lived through two world wars and pandemics as well as technological breakthroughs.
As a student, she played volleyball.
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In her older age, Ms Itooka enjoyed bananas and Calpis, a milky soft drink popular in Japan, according to the mayor's statement.
Women typically enjoy longevity in Japan, but the country is facing a worsening demographic crisis as its expanding elderly population leads to soaring medical and welfare costs, with a shrinking labour force to pay for it.
As at September, Japan counted more than 95,000 people who were 100 or older – 88 per cent of whom were women.
Of the country's 124 million people, nearly a third are 65 or older. AFP
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