Including the World's Oldest Person, a 116-Year-Old Woman... Japan Has 95,000 People Aged 100 and Over

54 Consecutive Years of Increase in Population Aged 100 and Over
Last Month, the World's Oldest Person Was a Japanese Woman

The number of elderly people aged over 100 in Japan this year was counted at 95,119.

116-year-old Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, who received the world's oldest person title last month, is celebrating her 116th birthday party.
[Image source: Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan]

On the 17th, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced statistics on the population aged 100 and over and the oldest people in celebration of Respect for the Aged Day on September 16. The population aged 100 and over in Japan has increased for 54 consecutive years up to this year. It first surpassed 10,000 in 1998 and exceeded 50,000 in 2012. This year, the number reached 95,119, an increase of 2,980 from last year. Among the elderly aged 100 and over, women accounted for 83,958, representing 88.3% of the total.

The oldest person in Japan and the world's oldest woman is Grandma Itooka Tomiko, who lives in Hyogo Prefecture. She is 116 years old this year and celebrated her 116th birthday last May. Additionally, she was officially registered as the world's oldest person by the Guinness World Records (GWR) last month. It is known that Grandma Itooka currently resides in a nursing home in Ashiya City.

Itooka currently lives in a wheelchair. She takes care of her health by drinking her favorite probiotic beverage every day in the nursing home's living room and never forgets to greet the staff with "Thank you." She revealed that her favorite food is bananas. Grandma Itooka, who enjoyed walking as a hobby, walked to a temple 3 km away even after turning 100. She has four children and five grandchildren.

The world's previous oldest person, Maria Branyas Morera (Spain), is celebrating her 117th birthday. [Image source=Capture from X (formerly Twitter)]

Grandma Itooka inherited the title of the world's oldest person after the previous record holder, Grandma Maria Branyas Morera from Spain, passed away on August 20 at the age of 117. Morera, who was born in the same year as the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Xuantong, actively communicated through social networking services (SNS) despite her advanced age.

Even on the 19th, just before her death, she said, "The time is approaching," and gave her final message: "I hope you don't suffer because of me. Somehow, I will be with you, so I will be happy wherever I go." Her SNS friends, who regularly communicated with her, expressed their condolences on hearing the news with messages such as "Rest in peace" and "We will miss you very much."

The Guinness World Records stated that the person who currently holds the record for the longest lifespan worldwide was Jeanne Louise Calment from France, who was born on February 21, 1875, and lived beyond 122 years.