Japan's Oldest Person, Tomiko Itooka, Passes Away at 116 | WPN World People News

The Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) reported today that Japan's oldest person, Tomiko Itooka, passed away on December 29, 2024, due to natural causes related to aging. She was 116 years old. Officials from the Ashiya City government stated that Ms. Itooka spent her later years in a local nursing home and passed peacefully from old age late last year.

Born on May 23, 1908, in Osaka City, Ms. Itooka later moved to Nara Prefecture before settling in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, in 1990. Media reports previously highlighted her vitality, noting that she visited the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage twice in her 80s and could still climb stairs to visit shrines without the aid of a cane at the age of 100.

In August 2024, following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas Morera of Spain, Ms. Itooka was recognized by Guinness World Records in September 2024 as the world's oldest living person.

Ashiya Mayor Ryosuke Takashima expressed deep condolences, saying, “Ms. Itooka gave us courage and hope throughout her extraordinarily long life. We extend our gratitude for her inspiration and offer our heartfelt sympathies to her family.”

Ms. Itooka, born six years before the outbreak of World War I and in the same year the Ford Model T was introduced, enjoyed bananas and the popular Japanese lactic acid drink Calpis in her later years, according to the mayor. She is survived by a son, a daughter, and five grandchildren. Her funeral will be held privately by her family.

The world's verified longest-lived person remains Jeanne Louise Calment of France (1875–1997), who lived to the age of 122 and is the only person on record to have surpassed 120 years.

As of September 2024, Japan had over 95,000 centenarians, with women accounting for 88% of this figure. Nearly 30% of Japan’s 124 million people are aged 65 or older.