World's oldest person Japan's Kane Tanaka died at age of 119 years

• Integrity Education, Delhi
• 26, Apr 2022

A Japanese woman certified the world's oldest person has died at the age of 119 years, local officials said today. Kane Tanaka, was born on 2nd January 1903, in the southwestern Fukuoka region of Japan, the same year the Wright brothers flew for the first time and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. She was in relatively good health until recently and lived at a nursing home, where she enjoyed board games, solving maths problems, soda and chocolate.

In her younger years, Tanaka ran various businesses including a noodle shop and a rice cake store. She married Hideo Tanaka a century ago in 1922, giving birth to four children and adopting a fifth.

She had planned to use a wheelchair to take part in the torch relay for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but could not do so due to the COVID pandemic restrictions. When the Guinness World Records recognised her as the oldest person alive in 2019, she was asked what moment she was the most happy in life. Her answer was 'Now.'

Japan has the world's most elderly population, according to World Bank data, with around 28 per cent aged 65 years or over. The oldest-ever living person verified by Guinness was Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment, who died aged 122 years and 164 days in 1997.

Sources : News on Air