Kane Tanaka, the world’s oldest citizen, passed away at the age of 119.
NHK, the Japanese state broadcaster, reported her death.
Ms. Tanaka was born on January 2, 1903, the same year that the Wright Brothers’ motor-driven airplane made its maiden controlled flight.
Guinness World Records verified her as the world’s longest-living person in 2019.
Tanaka died in old age on Tuesday, April 19, in a hospital in Fukuoka, western Japan.
According to NHK, she had a fondness for chocolate and carbonated beverages throughout her life.
Japan’s population is shrinking and quickly aging. In September of last year, the country had 86,510 centenarians, with nine out of ten of them being women.
Tanaka, despite her age, got up at 6 a.m. every day and continued to learn, often studying mathematics in the afternoon. She also enjoyed playing Othello, a popular board game, and had become very expert at it, regularly defeating nursing home employees.
Tanaka was recognized as the world’s oldest human alive on January 30, 2019 (at the age of 116 years and 28 days), in the presence of her family and the mayor.
She married Hideo Tanaka on January 6, 1922, four days after turning 19. She was the eighth child of Kumakichi and Kuma Ota.
After that, the couple had 4 kids and adopted a fifth.
She had a lot of health problems during her life and underwent multiple surgeries, including cataract surgery and colorectal cancer surgery, yet she died ‘peacefully’ in her last years.
