The most famous Japanese woman who was officially recognized as the current dean of humanity died on April 19 at the age of 119, local authorities announced on Monday, April 25.


The Japanese woman, Kane Tanaka was born on January 2, 1903 in Fukuoka Prefecture (southwestern Japan): that year, the Wright brothers made the first powered flight and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

Kane Tanaka was relatively healthy until recently and lived in a nursing home in her home county, where she enjoyed board games, solving math problems, soda and chocolate.

At the beginning of the last century, Mrs. Tanaka ran several businesses, including a noodle store and a rice cake store. She married in 1922, giving birth to four children and adopting a fifth.

Kane Tanaka, had planned to participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Torch Relay in a wheelchair but gave up because of the pandemic.

When the Guinness Book of World Records named her the world’s oldest living person in 2019, she was asked what the happiest moment in her life was. Her answer: “Now.”

Kane Tanaka began his day with the same ritual, Kane Tanaka got up at 06:00 in the morning, and afternoons were devoted to studying mathematics and practicing calligraphy.

“One of her favourite pastimes is the game Othello, she has become an expert in this classic board game and often manages to beat the household staff,” wrote Guinness in 2019.

For years, Japan has had the world’s oldest population and about 86,500 of its inhabitants are centenarians, according to the latest estimate by the Ministry of Health in September 2021.

The oldest person who ever lived with a documented birth date was France’s Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122.