A woman who held the Guinness World Record for being the oldest living person in the world has died aged 119.
Kane Tanaka passed away in hospital last week in Japan, according to the nation’s public broadcaster, as reported by Metro.
It was reported that on 19 April that she died of old age at a hospital in Fukuoka city, western Japan.
She was born on 2 January 1903, and her life has quite remarkably surpassed the whole 20th century and beyond.
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Tanaka was reportedly the second oldest person to have ever lived.
The eldest person on record is said to be French woman Jeanne Celment, who passed away in 1997 aged 122.
The seventh of nine siblings, Kane married when she was 19 and ran a noodle shop after her husband and eldest son went to fight in the Second Sino-Japanese War, that started in 1937.
Kane outlived her husband who passed away in 1993, aged 90.
She was already in her forties when the US tragically dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Since then, Japan recovered from the atrocities and has become an economic world power.
Kane never remarried and eventually moved into a retirement home in 2018.
The 119-year-old celebrated her birthday last month at the nursing home located in Fukuoka prefecture, south-west Japan.
Eiji, her 62-year-old grandson, told Kyodo news agency: "I would like to personally congratulate her soon.
"I hope she remains healthy and has fun everyday as she grows older."
As for Kane's secret for a long life, quite incredibly, she enjoyed spending her days solving puzzles, eating chocolate and drinking fizzy drinks.
So mental stimulation and loads of sugar, would appear to be the key.
Well, a 106-year-old man has revealed his secret to a long life and says it’s mainly down to what he’s not done rather than what he has.
Aussie Gordon Ewers was born in 1916, meaning he’s lived through two world wars, the great depression during the 1930s and the recent coronavirus pandemic.
Those closest to the fiercely independent great-granddad say he’s ‘still sharp as a tack’ and is able to live on his own and look after himself.
Speaking to 9 News, Gordon joked: "I'm well. The bloke inside the failing body is alright."
Gordon said: “I’ve never smoked and never drunk alcohol in my life. The absence of which is probably one of the helps towards achieving old age.”
Gordon went on to say that he believes it’s important to ‘live sensibly, breathe regularly, think positively, and live hopefully’.
“I can’t say it’s much of an achievement, it just happened to me, which I’m very happy for it to have done,” he said.
Topics: World News
Anish Vij