Tomiko Itooka, the Japanese woman who was the oldest person in the world according to the Guinness Book of Recordsdied, Ashiya city official said on Saturday. She was 116 years old.
Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of policy for the elderly, said Itooka died on December 29 at a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan.
Ashiya City via AP
Itooka, who loved bananas and a Japanese yogurt-flavored drink called Calpis, was born on May 23, 1908. She became the oldest person last year after the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyasaccording to the Gerontology Research Group.
When told she topped the world’s supercentenarian rankings, she simply replied, “Thank you.”
When Itooka celebrated her birthday last year, she received flowers, a cake and a card from the mayor.
Born in Osaka, Itooka was a volleyball player in high school and had long had a reputation for a lively spirit, Nagata said. She has climbed the 3,067-meter (10,062-foot) Mount Ontake twice.
She married at the age of 20 and had two daughters and two sons, according to Guinness.
Itooka ran the office of her husband’s textile factory during World War II. She lived alone in Nara after her husband died in 1979.
She is survived by a son and one daughter and five grandchildren. The funeral service was held with family and friends, according to Nagata.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, the oldest person in the world is now 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days after Itooka.
