Tomiko Itooka, a 116-year-old Japanese woman recognized as the world's oldest person, has died in western Japan, health ministry officials announced on Saturday. She was officially recognized as the world's oldest living person by Guinness World Records in September 2024, after the death of the previous record holder, Maria Branyas Morera, a 117-year-old from Olot, Catalonia, Spain. Tomiko Itooka was born on May 23, 1908, in Osaka, Japan. In her youth, she attended Osaka Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School, where she actively participated in the volleyball club. She married at the age o

Tomiko Itooka, a 116-year-old Japanese woman recognized as the world's oldest person, has died in western Japan, health ministry officials announced on Saturday. She was officially recognized as the world's oldest living person by Guinness World Records in September 2024, after the death of the previous record holder, Maria Branyas Morera, a 117-year-old from Olot, Catalonia, Spain. Tomiko Itooka was born on May 23, 1908, in Osaka, Japan. In her youth, she attended Osaka Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School, where she actively participated in the volleyball club. She married at the age of 20 and had four children—two daughters and two sons. During World War II, she managed the Japanese office of her husband's textile factory in South Korea, skillfully balancing her professional responsibilities with raising her family. After her husband's death in 1979, Itooka lived alone in Nara Prefecture for about a decade. Itooka attributed her longevity to a fondness for bananas and the yogurt-flavored Japanese drink, Calpis. She became the world's oldest living person following the death of Maria Branyas Morera in August 2024. Tomiko Itooka passed away on December 29, 2024, at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. She is survived by one son, one daughter, and five grandchildren. Following her passing, the title of the world's oldest living person was transferred to 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas.

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