The oldest man in the world, Chitetsu Watanabe, died at the age of 112. Watanabe only got the official certificate from Guinness World Records two weeks ago. That’s what the Japanese media are reporting.
He became the world’s oldest man after the death of his predecessor Masazo Nonaka, also a Japanese, on January 20, last year, at the age of 113 years.
Watanabe was born on March 5, 1907, in the centrally located Niigata prefecture, and stayed in a retirement home in the same Niigata. Until last summer, he did sports and math exercises daily. The secret for a long life was, according to the man, not to be annoyed and always have a smile on the face.
After graduating from the agricultural school, Watanabe moved to Taiwan, where he worked for 18 years in a Japanese sugar factory. He served in the Japanese army during the Second World War, and then returned to Niigata. There he worked as a civil servant until his retirement.
The century-old has five children, twelve grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren, and a great-great-grandchild.
The oldest living woman also lives in Japan. Kane Tanaka celebrated her 117th birthday in January.
