Japanese Woman, 116, leaves her body, Marking End of Record Age

World’s oldest human, Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, passed away at the age of 116, the city of Ashiya announced on Saturday.

Itooka, who had 4 children and five grandchildren, died on December 29 at a nursing home where she had lived since 2019, according to the mayor of the south city. She was born on May 23, 1908, in Osaka, nearby Ashiya, four months before the Ford Model T was introduced in the US.

Itooka was recognized as the oldest living person after the passing away of Spain's Maria Branyas Morera who was aged 117, in August 2024. "Ms. Itooka gave us courage and hope through her long life," stated Ashiya's 27-year-old mayor, Ryosuke Takashima, in one of the statement. "We thank her for it."

Itooka, one of 3 siblings, lived through both world wars, pandemics, and several technological advancements.

As a youngster, she played volleyball. In her later years, Itooka enjoyed bananas and Calpis, a famous milky soft drink in Japan, as noted in the mayor’s statement. While longevity is common among women in Japan, this country faces a high demographic crisis, with an aging population that is driving up medical and welfare costs, while the labor force shrinks to support it. As of September, Japan had over 95,000 centenarians, with 88% of them being women.

Nearly 1/3 of Japan’s 124 million citizens are aged 65 or even more than that.

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