World

Japanese Woman Turns 117 Years Old, Extends Record as World’s Oldest Person

Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman has extended her record as the world’s oldest person by celebrating her 117th birthday at a nursing home in Fukuoka in southern Japan.

Japanese Woman Turns 117 Years Old

According to television footage from local broadcaster TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting Co, Tanaka marked her birthday with a party on Sunday i.e. January 2, 2020, along with the staff and friends at the nursing home.

Tanaka took a bite from a slice of her big birthday cake and she said with a smile, “Tasty.” She further added, “I want some more.”

According to Guinness World Records, Tanaka was last year confirmed as the oldest living person, aged 116 years 66 days old as on March 9, 2019. The honor was last bestowed to Chiyo Miyako, also of Japan, who died in July 2018 at age 117. The oldest person before her was also Japanese. The oldest person to ever live was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived to 122 years. She died in August 1997.

Extends Record as World’s Oldest Person

The Guinness World Records further said that Tanaka was born prematurely in 1903 and married Hideo Tanaka in 1922. The couple had four children and adopted a fifth.

Tanaka’s honor is representative of Japan’s cultural deference to its older populations, as well as a diet and health care system that allow its population to age well into its 80s and beyond.

Tanaka’s record age is also symbolic of Japan’s fast-aging population, which when coupled with its falling birth rate is raising concerns about labour shortages and prospects for future economic growth.

According to Japan’s welfare ministry, the number of babies born in Japan fell an estimated 5.9% last year to fewer than 900,000 for the first time since the government started compiling data in 1899.

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