TOKYO – A 116-year-old Japanese woman is set to become the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records, following the death of a 117-year-old Spanish woman earlier this week.
It was stated by the US –based Gerontology Research Group, adding that Tomiko Itooka lives in Japanese city of Ashiya. She was born on May 23, 1908.
The group said Itooka, a mother-of-three, was born in the year when a long-distance radio message was sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
In her 70s, she has twice scaled Japan’s 3,067-metre (10,062-ft) Mount Ontake while at the age of 100, she walked up the lengthy stone steps of Ashiya Shrine without using a cane, the group added.
Earlier this week, the world’s oldest person, Maria Branyas Morera, passed away on August 19, announced the Guinness World Records (GWR) on Tuesday.
GWR in a statement said her death was confirmed by the Gerontology Research Group.
“Aged 117 years 168 days, she was the eighth-oldest person (with a verifiable age) in history,” read the GWR blog.
Maria passed away peacefully at the nursing home in Catalonia, Spain, where she resided for the past two decades.
She was confirmed to be the world’s oldest woman (and person overall) in January 2023, following the death of Lucile Randon (France).
Maria attributed her longevity to “order, tranquility, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people.
Maria spent her formative years in America – she was born on 4 March 1907 in San Francisco, California, one year after her parents emigrated to the country.
Aged 24, Maria married her husband, Dr Joan Moret, and they jointly have three children.
Dr Moret died in 1976, and María also outlived her eldest son August, who passed away aged 86.
Maria is survived by two children, 11 grandchildren, and many more great-grandchildren.
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