Japan: World’s oldest person Tomiko Itooka dies at 116 – DW – 01/04/2025

A 116 year-old woman from Japan, thought to be the world’s oldest person, has died, according to Japanese media reports.

Japanese public television station NHK reported on Saturday that Tomiko Itooka died at a retirement home on December 29 in Ashiya in the southern Hyogo prefecture.

Born before the World War 1

Itooka was born on May 23 1908 in Osaka and was the oldest of three siblings. She had four children and five grandchildren.

The Guinness World Records listed Itooka as the oldest living person after the August 2024 death of Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera at the age of 117.

“During her long life, she has given us much courage and hope. We thank her once again and offer our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones,” the television station quoted Ashiya’s mayor Ryosuke Takashima as saying.

As of September, Japan counted more than 95,000 people aged 100 or older with 88% of that number being women.

The oldest person ever to have lived was Jeanne Louise Calment from France aged 122 years and 164 days when she died in August 1997.

kb/wd (dpa, AFP)