Japanese woman, world’s oldest person at 116, dies

Tomiko Itooka, a 116-year-old Japanese woman recognized as the world’s oldest person, has died of old age, an official of the western Japan city of Ashiya where she lived said Saturday.

Born on May 23, 1908, in Osaka as the eldest of three siblings, Itooka died Sunday night at the nursing home where she resided, the city government in Hyogo Prefecture said.

Itooka became the oldest living person in Japan in December 2023 following the death of Fusa Tatsumi, a 116-year-old in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture.

She was subsequently recognized as the world’s oldest living person by Guinness World Records in September 2024, following the death of the previous holder, Maria Branyas Morera, a 117-year-old from Olot, Catalonia, Spain.

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