Japan: The world’s oldest man, Chinese female Tomiko Itooka, has died aged 116, the town of Ashiya announced on Saturday ( Jan 4).
Itooka, who had four children and five children, died on Dec 29 at a care home where she resided since 2019, the southern town’s president said in a statement.
She was born on May 23, 1908, four weeks before the Ford Model T was introduced in the United States, in the commercial hub of Osaka, close to Ashiya.
After the demise of Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera at the age of 117 in August 2024, Itooka was recognized as the oldest person in the world.
” Mr Itooka gave us courage and desire through her long existence”, Ashiya’s 27-year-old president Ryosuke Takashima said in the speech.
” We thank her for it”.
Itooka, who was one of three sisters, lived through world war and epidemics as well as technological advances.
As a scholar, she played tennis.
In her older years, Itooka enjoyed fruits and Calpis, a creamy soft consume popular in Japan, according to the president’s statement.
Women in Japan normally enjoy longevity, but the country is experiencing a worsening socioeconomic problems as its population of older people skyrockets medical and welfare costs, as well as a shrinking labor force that makes up for it.
As of September, Japan counted more than 95, 000 persons who were 100 or older- 88 per share of whom were girls.
Of the government’s 124 million individuals, almost a third are 65 or older.