According to Guinness World Records, the world's oldest Japanese woman, Tomiko Itooka, has died at the age of 116.
According to Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of policies for the elderly, Itooka passed away on December 29th at a nursing home in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Mr. Itooka, who enjoyed a banana and yogurt-flavored Japanese drink called Calpis, was born on May 23, 1908. According to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG), Itooka became the oldest person to live in Japan after 117-year-old Maria Brañas passed away last year. .
When told that she had topped the world supercentenarian rankings, she simply replied, “Thank you.”
When Itooka celebrated her birthday last year, she received flowers, cake and a card from the mayor.
Nagata said that Osaka-born Itooka was a volleyball player in high school and had a long reputation for her cheerful spirit. She twice climbed Mt. Ontake, which has an altitude of 3,067 meters (10,062 feet).
According to Guinness, she married at the age of 20 and had two daughters and two sons.
Ms. Itooka ran the office of her husband's textile factory during World War II. Her husband died in 1979 and she lived alone in Nara.
She has a son, a daughter, and five grandchildren. According to Nagata, the funeral was held with family and friends.
According to GRG, the world's oldest person is Ina Canavarro Lucas, a 116-year-old Brazilian nun who was born 16 days after Itooka.
