World's oldest person, Tomiko Itooka from Japan, dies at 116

The world’s oldest person has breathed her last. Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman, died at the age of 116, an Ashiya city official informed on Saturday.

Itooka was named the world’s oldest living person by the Guinness World Records in 2024 after Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera passed away in August last year.

The Japanese woman died on December 29 in a nursing home in the city of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture.

Who was Tomiko Itooka?

Itooka, who loved bananas and a yoghurt-flavoured Japanese drink called Calpis, was born on May 23, 1908, which means she lived through to witness both the World Wars.

Born in Osaka, Itooka was a volleyball player in high school and long had a reputation for a sprightly spirit, Nagata said. She climbed the 3,067-meter (10,062-foot) Mount Ontake twice.

She married at 20, and had two daughters and two sons, according to Guinness.

Itooka managed the office of her husband’s textile factory during World War II. She lived alone in Nara after her husband died in 1979.

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In September 2024, she was officially recognized as the world’s oldest person and received the Guinness World Records certificate on Respect for the Aged Day, a Japanese public holiday dedicated to honouring the nation’s elderly.

Who is the next oldest person?

According to the Gerontology Research Group, the world’s oldest person is now 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days after Itooka.

With inputs from agencies