Tomiko Itooka — World's Oldest Person — Dies at 116 in Japan

Tokyo: Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman who was the world’s oldest person, has died at the age of 116, an Ashiya city official said Saturday. 

According to Guinness World Records, Tomiko Itooka became the world’s oldest person following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas.

Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Itooka died on Dec. 29 at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan.

Who was Tomiko Itooka

Itooka, who loved bananas and a yogurt-flavored Japanese drink called Calpis, was born on May 23, 1908. She was born in Osaka. She was a volleyball player in high school, and long had a reputation for a sprightly spirit, Nagata said. 

“She climbed the 3,067-meter (10,062-foot) Mount Ontake twice,” the official added. 

Tomiko Itooka married at 20, and had two daughters and two sons, according to Guinness.

During World War II, Itooka oversaw the office of her husband's textile factory. After her husband passed away in 1979, she lived alone in Nara. Five grandchildren and one son and one daughter survive her. 

Inah Canabarro Lucas Becomes World's Oldest Person 

According to the Gerontology Research Group, the world’s oldest person is now 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days after Itooka.