Tomiko Itooka, the Japanese lady acknowledged because the world’s oldest particular person by the Guinness World Information, has handed away on the age of 116.
She died on December 29 at a nursing house in Ashiya, the place she had resided since 2019.
Itooka’s dying marks the top of an period for many who witnessed her lengthy life, which spanned over a century of historic modifications and technological improvements.
Born on Could 23, 1908, in Osaka, Japan, Itooka’s life started simply 4 months earlier than the launch of the Ford Mannequin T in america.
All through her outstanding life, she lived via vital international occasions, together with two world wars, a number of pandemics, and the rise of groundbreaking applied sciences that modified the world.
Itooka was certainly one of three siblings and witnessed many historic milestones, together with the transformation of Japan into an financial powerhouse within the post-war period.
Itooka was a mom of 4 youngsters and a grandmother of 5, forsaking a legacy of household and resilience.
The mayor of Ashiya, Ryosuke Takashima, 27, expressed deep gratitude in a press release, saying, “Ms. Itooka gave us braveness and hope via her lengthy life. We thank her for it.”
As a pupil, Itooka was identified for her energetic way of life, together with enjoying volleyball.
In her later years, she loved easy comforts like bananas and Calpis, a milky tender drink in style in Japan. These small pleasures mirrored her capacity to adapt and discover pleasure all through her life, irrespective of the challenges.
Itooka had been acknowledged because the world’s oldest particular person following the dying of Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera, who handed away at 117 in August 2024.
Itooka’s passing has as soon as once more highlighted Japan’s status for longevity, because the nation has one of many highest life expectations on the planet.
Nevertheless, Japan can be grappling with a demographic disaster, as its growing old inhabitants results in escalating medical and welfare prices whereas the working-age inhabitants shrinks.
As of September 2024, Japan had greater than 95,000 centenarians, with 88 % of them being girls.
Practically a 3rd of Japan’s 124 million individuals are aged 65 or older, presenting a rising problem for the nation’s healthcare and pension programs.