Tomiko Itooka, the world’s oldest person, died at the age of 116 on Saturday, according to Ashiya, the city where she lived. Itooka, who had four children and five grandkids, died on December 29 in a nursing facility where she had lived since 2019, according to a statement from the mayor of the southern city.
She was born on May 23, 1908, in the commercial centre of Osaka, near Ashiya, four months before the Ford Model T debuted in the United States. Itooka was named the world’s oldest person after Maria Branyas Morera of Spain died at the age of 117 in August 2024. “Ms Itooka gave us courage and hope throughout her long life,” Ashiya’s 27-year-old mayor, Ryosuke Takashima, said in a press release.
“We thank her for it.” Itooka, one of three siblings, experienced world wars, pandemics, and technological achievements had said. She used to play volleyball while she was in school. According to the mayor, Itooka adored bananas and Calpis, a milky soft drink popular in Japan, as she grew older.
Women in Japan normally live longer lives, but the country is confronting a deteriorating demographic crisis as its growing senior population drives up medical and welfare costs, which are being borne by a diminishing labour force. As of September, Japan had more than 95,000 people aged 100 and up, with women accounting for 88% of the total.
