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List of Japanese supercentenarians

Japanese supercentenarians are citizens, residents or emigrants from Japan who have attained or surpassed the age of 110 years. As of January 2015, the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had validated the longevity claims of 263 Japanese supercentenarians, most of whom are women. As of 8 June 2024, the oldest known living Japanese person is Tomiko Itooka (born in Osaka on 23 May 1908), aged 116 years, 16 days. The oldest verified Japanese and Asian person ever is Kane Tanaka (1903–2022), who lived to the age of 119 years and 107 days, making her the second oldest validated person ever as well. Japan was also home to the world's oldest man ever, Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013), who lived to the age of 116 years and 54 days.

100 oldest known Japanese

Deceased Living

Biographies

Denzō Ishizaki

Denzō Ishizaki (石崎伝蔵, Ishizaki Denzō, 2 October 1886 (or 1884?) – 29 April 1999) was an elementary school teacher and town assembly member in his hometown Kansago, Ibaraki Prefecture. At the time of his death, Ishizaki had been the world's oldest living man for almost 18 weeks, as well as the 9th oldest living person in the world. He died of multiple organ failure on 29 April 1999 at age 112 (or 114?) years and 209 days, and was the oldest Japanese man ever (until October 2001, when his record was broken by Yukichi Chuganji). However, Ishizaki claimed to be two years older, asserting that his birth register had been "delayed by two years". In July 2023, LongeviQuest determined that Ishizaki was born 18 days earlier than previously believed, based on his family records.

Yukichi Chuganji

Yukichi Chuganji (中願寺雄吉; Chūganji Yūkichi, 23 March 1889 – 28 September 2003) was a Japanese silkworm breeder, instructor in the agricultural specialty, bank employee and community welfare officer who lived for 114 years and 189 days. At the time of his death, he was the oldest Japanese man ever and the world's oldest living person.

He didn't like to eat vegetables but liked beef, pork and chicken. He also ate toffee, drank milk, the occasional apple juice and only drank alcohol in moderation, which he believed were the secrets to a long life. During the last years of his life, he had failing eye sight and was bedridden. He died of natural causes on the evening of 28 September 2003, after being served a glass of apple juice by his 74-year-old daughter, who was his only living child. Besides 5 children, Chuganji also had 7 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Nabi Tajima

Nabi Tajima (田島ナビ, Tajima Nabi, 4 August 1900 – 21 April 2018) succeeded Violet Brown as the world's oldest person after Brown's death on 16 September 2017. She died seven months later and was the last person verified as having been born in the 19th century.

Tajima was born and died on the small island of Kikaijima in the Amami Islands chain, about halfway between Okinawa and the main Japanese islands. Her husband, Tominishi Tajima (田島富二子), died aged 93 in 1991. She had nine children, seven sons and two daughters, and in September 2017 she was reported to have had around 160 descendants, including great-great-great-grandchildren. She stated that her longevity was due to sleeping soundly and eating delicious food. Guinness World Records was planning to certify Tajima as the world's oldest person, but she died at a nursing home in Kikai shortly before they could do so.

She died at age 117 years and 260 days on 21 April 2018, and was the oldest Japanese person ever until Kane Tanaka surpassed her age on 19 September 2020.

Yasutaro Koide

Yasutaro Koide (小出保太郎, Koide Yasutarō, 13 March 1903 – 19 January 2016) worked as a tailor for a men's clothes shop in Tsuruga, Fukui. He moved to Nagoya when he was 107 years old, to live with his daughter. When he turned 110, Koide could still read newspapers without eyeglasses and eat without dentures.

On 31 March 2014, Koide became the oldest living person in Aichi Prefecture following the death of Nagoya resident Tsuya Miura, who died at the age of 111. The following year, he became the oldest living man in the world following the death of Sakari Momoi on 5 July 2015, a feat which was recognized by Guinness World Records on 21 August 2015. When asked about the secret to his long life, Koide responded by stating that "the best thing is to not overdo" and recommending abstinence from smoking or drinking.

Koide died on 19 January 2016 due to heart failure and pneumonia in a hospital in Nagoya at the age of 112 years, 312 days.

Masazō Nonaka

Masazō Nonaka (野中正造, Nonaka Masazō, 25 July 1905 – 20 January 2019) had been, at the time of his death, Japan's oldest living man since October 2016, and the world's oldest living man for one year, since January 2018. Nonaka was also the oldest person ever born in Hokkaidō.

He had two brothers and three sisters; Nonaka married Hatsuno Nonaka in 1931. They had five children, of whom three were living as of his death. He ran the family onsen, which opened in 1905. He spent most of his later years in a wheelchair, crediting his longevity to eating sweets and relaxing in the hot springs. Nonaka died on 20 January 2019, aged 113 years and 179 days.

Fusa Tatsumi

Fusa Tatsumi (巽フサ, Tatsumi Fusa, 25 April 1907 – 12 December 2023) was a Japanese supercentenarian. She was Japan's oldest living person after the death of Kane Tanaka on 19 April 2022.

Fusa Tatsumi was born in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Empire of Japan on 25 April 1907. Tatsumi moved into the Hakuto nursing home in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, Japan in 2013. When she came to the nursing home she was in relatively good health, and was able to do gymnastics from her wheelchair. Aged 110, she was still able to do her own makeup. She was bedridden and rarely spoke in her later years. After the death of Lucile Randon of France on 17 January 2023, Tatsumi became the second-oldest living person in the world behind Maria Branyas, a Californian-born woman of Catalan descent. The pair were the last two living people verified to have been born in 1907. Tatsumi died on 12 December 2023, aged 116 years and 231 days.

Tomiko Itooka

Tomiko Itooka (糸岡富子, Itooka Tomiko, born 23 May 1908) is a Japanese supercentenarian. She is Japan's oldest living person since the death of Fusa Tatsumi on 12 December 2023. Tomiko Itooka was born in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Empire of Japan on 23 May 1908. She moved into a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyōgo in 2019. She was at the time still able to move independently, but now mainly uses a wheelchair. As of February 2024, she is the second-oldest living person, behind Maria Branyas.