Editorial
The world’s oldest person, Kane Tanaka, has died in Japan, aged 119 and 107 days, according to a statement released by the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The ministry state that the woman, who was born on January 2, 1903, passed away on April 19.
Guinness World Records, which confirmed her record as the oldest person alive in 2019, has paid tribute.
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On Twitter, it said: “She became the oldest living person in January 2019 at the age of 116 years and 28 days.
“She is also the second oldest person ever recorded, behind only Jeanne Calment who lived to the age of 122.”
Earlier this month, Tanaka’s family reportedly said that she had been ‘in and out of hospital’ as she was apparently being frequently sick.
At the time of her death, she reportedly lived in a retirement home in Fukuoka. Relatives are believed to have claimed that she kept herself mentally and physically active by continuing to remain curious and doing maths.
Junko Tanaka, the woman’s great-granddaughter, apparently set up a Twitter account for her in January 2020, in order to celebrate her life.
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The great-grandchild reportedly told CNN around the time: “I might be biased because I’m related to her but I think it’s kind of amazing – I wanted to share that with the world and for people to feel inspired and to feel her joy.”
According to the news outlet, Tanaka married a rice shop owner when she was 19 years old. It’s believed she worked at the family store until she was 103.
She apparently managed to survive cancer twice and lived through many historic events, including two world wars, the Spanish flu and the Covid pandemic.
Reportedly, Tanaka was set to be involved in the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was supposedly meant to take the flame as it passed through Shime.
However, she didn’t participate due to coronavirus concerns.
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