World’s oldest person Kane Tanaka dies at 119

 

 

On Monday, the world’s “oldest” person, who lived in Japan, died at the age of 119.

 

Kane Tanaka died in her hometown of Fukuoka, in southwestern Japan, according to Kyodo News.

Tanaka, who was born on January 2, 1903, celebrated his 119th birthday this year.

She had been born a year before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War.

Tanaka lived during at least five imperial eras in post-1867 Japanese history: Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Heisei, and the current Reiwa.

She was named the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records in March 2019, when she was 116 years old.

She became the oldest person in Japan after turning 117 years, 261 days old in September 2020, according to Japanese authorities.

 

Tanaka interacted with personnel at a Fukuoka care facility using her facial expressions, and she enjoyed doing numerical puzzles, eating chocolate, and drinking soda.

She married at the age of 19 and was the seventh of nine siblings. Later, during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, she sent her husband and son to the front lines.

Chiyo Miyako, another Japanese lady who died in July 2018 at the age of 117, was the world’s oldest person before Tanaka.

According to Guinness World Records, Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122, holds the all-time record for longest life.