World’s oldest person dies in Japan aged 116 

Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman who was the world’s oldest person according to Guinness World Records, has died at the age of 116.

Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Itooka died on December 29 at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo prefecture, central Japan.

Itooka, who loved bananas and a yoghurt-flavoured Japanese drink called Calpis, was born on May 23, 1908. She became the oldest person last year following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

When she was told she was at the top of the World Supercentenarian Rankings List, she simply replied, “Thank you.”

Itooka celebrated her birthday last year with flowers, a cake and a card from the mayor.

“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.”

Born in Osaka, Itooka was a volleyball player in high school and long had a reputation for a sprightly spirit, Nagata said. She climbed the 3,067-meter (10,062-ft) Mount Ontake twice.

She married at 20, and had two daughters and two sons, according to Guinness.

Itooka managed the office of her husband’s textile factory during World War II. She lived alone in Nara after her husband died in 1979.

She is survived by one son and one daughter, and five grandchildren. A funeral service was held with family and friends, according to Nagata.

Itooka has not only lived through world wars but also pandemics, as well as technological breakthroughs.

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.

According to the Gerontology Research Group, the world’s oldest person is now 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days after Itooka.