Tomiko Itooka, the world’s oldest person according to Guinness World Records, passed away at the age of 116. She died at a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, local officials confirmed.
Ms Itooka earned the title in September 2024 after the death of Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera, aged 117, earlier that year.
A life spanning over a century
Born in May 1908, Ms Itooka’s life intersected with major events in global history. She was born six years before the start of World War One and the same year the Ford Model T car launched in the United States.
As a student, she played volleyball and climbed Mount Ontake, a peak that rises 3,067 metres (10,062 feet), twice. In later years, she often enjoyed bananas and Calpis, a milky soft drink popular in Japan.
Family and career
At 20, Ms Itooka married and had four children—two daughters and two sons. During World War Two, she managed the office at her husband’s textile factory. After he passed away in 1979, she chose to live alone in Nara.
Ms Itooka leaves behind one son, one daughter, and five grandchildren. Her family and close friends gathered for a private funeral service.
A legacy of longevity
Japan has over 95,000 people aged 100 or older, with women making up 88% of this group. Nearly a third of Japan’s population of 124 million is 65 or older, reflecting the country’s remarkable life expectancy.
Following Ms Itooka’s passing, Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days later in 1908, is now considered the world’s oldest person.
