The Japanese Kane Tanaka, 116 years and 66 days old, is officially the oldest living person. She received a certificate from Guinness World Records.
The woman loves mathematics and still plays the Othello family game. Her family and the mayor of the southwestern city of Fukuoka, where she stays in a rest home, attended the ceremony.
Her predecessor was also a Japanese woman, Chiyo Miyako. She was 117 when she died on July 22, 2018.
Tanaka was born on January 2, 1903, as the seventh of eight children. In 1922 she married, and together with her husband she had four children. She also adopted a daughter from her sister. The woman gets up every day at 6 o’clock and goes to sleep at 9 o’clock.
Asked about when she was happiest in her life, Tanaka replied completely “now.”
Japanese tend to exhibit longevity and dominate the oldest-person list. Although changing dietary habits means obesity has been rising, it’s still relatively rare in a nation whose culinary tradition focuses on fish, rice, vegetables and other food low in fat. Age is also traditionally respected in Japan, so people stay active into their 80s and beyond.
