Tomiko Itooka died on December 29 at a care home in central Japan – and was recognised as the oldest person last year following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas
A Japanese woman who held the Guinness World Record title being the world’s oldest person has died aged 116, officials said.
Ms Tomiko Itooka, who enjoyed climbing as a hobby for most of her life, died on December 29 at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan, according to staff. The supercentenarian climbed the 10,062ft Mount Ontake twice and loved bananas.
She was born on May 23, 1908, and was recognised as the oldest person last year following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas, according to the Gerontology Research Group. After being told she was at the top of the World Supercentenarian Rankings List, she simply replied: “Thank you.”
Ms Itooka received flowers, a cake and a card from the mayor when she celebrated her birthday last year.
Born in Osaka, Itooka was a volleyball player in high school, and long had a reputation for a sprightly spirit, officials said. She was married at 20 and had two daughters and two sons, according to Guinness.
Ms Itooka managed the office of her husband’s textile factory during the Second World War. She lived alone in Nara after her husband died in 1979. She is survived by one son and one daughter, and five grandchildren. A funeral service was held with family and friends.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, the world’s oldest person is now 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days after Ms Itooka.
Former record holder Maria Branyas, who was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, before moving back to Spain, died at 117 years old in August 2024. In a heartfelt post on Maria’s social media account, her family shared: “Maria Branyas has left us. She has gone the way she wanted: in her sleep, at peace, and without pain.”
Maria had moved back to Spain with her family when she was a child. At the time of her passing, she lived in a nursing home in the Catalan town of Olot. On her aptly named social media account titled “Super Catalan Grandma”, she had written in her description: “I am old, very old, but not an idiot.”
In a heartbreaking final post, Ms Branyas told her followers she had been feeling “weak”.