Japan. The oldest person in the world has died. “She gave us courage and hope”

On December 29, 2024, the oldest Japanese woman and the oldest person in the world, Tomiko Itooka, died at the age of 116. The woman had been living in a retirement home in the city of Ashiya in Hyogo Prefecture since 2019, enjoying good health considering her age. The city hall announced the death of the senior on Saturday.

The city's mayor, 27-year-old Ryosuke Takashima, expressed his condolences to the family and loved ones and emphasized that “Ms. Itooka gave us great courage and hope throughout our long lives.” The woman's funeral took place on Saturday.

Born in Osaka on May 23, 1908, the senior had two younger siblings. She got married at the age of 20. With her husband, who died almost half a century ago, she had two daughters and two sons. She left behind a son and a daughter and five grandchildren.

According to the media, she was a physically active person all her life – in her youth, she played volleyball and hiked mountains, and twice climbed Mount Ontake, which is over 3,000 meters above sea level. Even after turning 100, she often walked to local temples. Her menu included bananas and a yogurt-like drink with lactic acid called Calpis, which she drank until she was old.

Itooka became the doyen of humanity in September 2024, after the death of the previous record holder, Maria Branyas Morera of Catalonia. Currently, the oldest inhabitant of the world is a 116-year-old nun from Brazil, Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days after Itooka.

In September, the Japanese authorities reported that there were 95,119 people over 100 years old in the country. Their number has been growing continuously for 54 years. As many as 88 percent of seniors who are at least 100 years old are women.