A Japanese woman, who recently turned 116 years old in January, has been recognized as the oldest living person on the planet. The Guinness World Records announced this week that they have proclaimed Kane Tanaka, who was born on January 2, 1903, as the official oldest person in the world. Despite her age, Tanaka reportedly still actively plays board games and has an active interest in math.
Tanaka currently lives in a nursing home in Fukuoka city located in the western part of Japan. Several family members as well as the mayor of Fukuoka city, Soichiro Takashima, were in attendance at Tanaka's recognition celebrations. Several well-wishers had also attended the event to witness Guinness' official awarding. When asked when the happiest moment in her life was, Tanaka replied that it was "now."
According to Guinness, Tanaka was born during the same year the Wright brothers had achieved humanity's first powered flight in North Carolina. The president of the United States was still Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Ford had just founded the Ford Motor Company. Kane married in 1922 to a man named Hideo Tanaka. They eventually had four children together and had adopted another child during their life together.
Despite her old age, Tanaka still wakes up early in the morning at 6 am. To keep her mind sharp, Tanaka plays different board games, with her favorite being the game of Othello. She has reportedly become so good at it that she regularly beats the staff at her facility. In the afternoons, she is often seen studying mathematics. She also dabbles in the art of calligraphy in her spare time.
Japan currently boasts one of the world's highest life expectancy rates with a number of citizens living past 100 years of age. In the city of Okinawa, over a hundred residents are past 100-years-old. In 2017, there were around 2 million people living in the country that were more than 90 years-old.
Before Tanaka, the oldest living person in the world was fellow Japanese centenarian, Chiyo Miyako. She, unfortunately, died last year at the age of 117, which meant that Tanaka was the new world record holder. According to Guinness, the world record for the person with the longest life span is still being held by the French centenarian Jeanne Louise Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122.
Medical experts believe that the main reason for Japan's high life-expectancy rate is in their diet. While Japanese people do eat meat, they usually consume raw and cooked fish, which is full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Other popular foods in the country, such as tofu, seaweed, and octopi, are also quite healthy. Japan also boasts a highly advanced and well-managed health care system. The Japanese government often pays more than 70 percent of all medical costs and up to 90 percent for low-income earners.
