World’s ‘oldest’ person dies at 119

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – World’s “oldest” person living in Japan died on Monday at the age of 119.

Kane Tanaka died in Fukuoka, in southwestern Japan, where she lived, Kyodo News reported.

Born on Jan. 2, 1903, Tanaka turned 119 early this year.

She was born a year before when the Russo-Japanese War broke.

Late Tanaka witnessed at least five imperial eras of post-1867 modern Japanese history including Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Heisei and the ongoing Reiwa.

Guinness World Records recognized her as the world's oldest person in March 2019 when she was 116.

According to Japanese records, she turned the oldest person in the country after turning 117 years, 261 days old in September 2020.

While living at a care facility in Fukuoka, Tanaka communicated with staff through her facial expressions and enjoys solving number puzzles, eating chocolate, and drinking soda.

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

Before Tanaka, the world's oldest person was Chiyo Miyako, another Japanese woman who died in July 2018 at the age of 117.

According to the Guinness World Records, the all-time record for longest life is held by French woman Jeanne Louise Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122.