Tomiko Itooka, world's oldest person passes away at 116
Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Itooka died on December 29 at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan.
Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Itooka died on December 29 at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan.
Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Itooka died on December 29 at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan.
Tokyo: Tomiko Itooka, the world's oldest person at 116, according to the Guinness World Records, passed away in Japan.
Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Itooka died on December 29, 2024, at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan.
Itooka, who loved bananas and a yoghurt-flavoured Japanese drink called Calpis, was born on May 23, 1908. According to the Gerontology Research Group, she became the oldest person last year following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas.
Born in Osaka, Itooka played volleyball in high school and has long had a reputation for a sprightly spirit, Nagata said. She has climbed Mount Ontake twice, reaching a height of 3,067 metres (10,062 feet).
According to Guinness, she married at 20 and had two daughters and two sons. Itooka managed the office of her husband's textile factory during World War II. After her husband died in 1979, she lived alone in Nara. She is survived by one son, one daughter, and five grandchildren.
According to Nagata, a funeral service was held for family and friends. According to the Gerontology Research Group, the world's oldest person is now 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, born 16 days after Itooka.