World’s oldest person Tomiko Itooka dies aged 116

A JAPANESE woman recognised as the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records (GWR) has died aged 116.

Tomiko Itooka died last Sunday in a nursing home in the city of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, according to officials.

She became the oldest person in the world after Spain’s Maria Morera died in August 2024 at age 117.

“Itooka gave us courage and hope through her long life,” Ashiya’s 27-year-old mayor Ryosuke Takashima said in a statement.

“We thank her for it.”

Itooka was born in May 1908 – six years before World War One and the same year the Ford Model T car was launched in the United States.

She was verified as the world’s oldest person in September 2024 and was presented with the official GWR certificate on the Respect for the Aged Day, which is a Japanese public holiday celebrated annually to honour the country’s elderly citizens.

Itooka, who was one of three siblings, lived through world wars and pandemics as well as technological breakthroughs.

As a student, she played volleyball and climbed the 3 067-metre Mount Ontake twice.

In her older age, she enjoyed bananas and Calpis, a milky soft drink popular in Japan, according to the mayor’s statement.

She married at 20, and had two daughters and two sons.

During World War Two she managed the office of her husband’s textile factory. She lived alone in Nara after her husband died in 1979.

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

As of September, Japan counted more than 95 000 people who were 100 or older – 88% of whom were women.

Of the country’s 124 million people, nearly a third are 65 or older.

Brazilian nun Inah Lucas, who was born 16 days after Itooka and is 116, is now believed to be the world’s oldest person.

– BBC