Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman recognized as the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records, has died at the age of 116. She passed away in a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, according to officials. Itooka took over the title after Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera passed away in August 2024 at 117.
Born in 1908, Itooka lived through world wars and pandemics, as well as technological breakthroughs. She enjoyed playing volleyball as a student and climbing Mount Ontake twice. In her older age, she was known to enjoy bananas and Calpis, a popular soft drink in Japan.
Itooka 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 after her husband died in 1979. Itooka is survived by one son, one daughter, and five grandchildren.
With over 95,000 people aged 100 or older in Japan as of September, nearly a third of the country’s population is 65 or older. Itooka’s death marks another milestone in the record-breaking lives of Japan’s elderly citizens.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9830vpp2p0o