Kaku Yamanaka, Japan's oldest person, is all smiles in this undated photo. Yamanaka has died of old age in central Japan, officials said Saturday, April 5, 2008. She was 113. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
Posted on 04/05/2008 1:31:22 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
TOKYO - Kaku Yamanaka, Japan's oldest person, has died of old age in central Japan, officials said Saturday. She was 113.
Yamanaka died at a hospital where she was taken early Saturday after falling ill at a nursing home in Yatomi City in Aichi prefecture (state), an official at her nursing home said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
Born on Dec. 11, 1894, Yamanaka became Japan's oldest person when Tsuneyo Toyonaga, 113, died in February. It was not immediately clear who had become Japan's new oldest person, and Health Ministry officials were not available for comment Saturday.
Yamanaka was known for her love of singing and took part in local karaoke contests, the nursing home official said.
Japan has one of the world's longest average life spans — a factor often attributed to a healthy diet rich in fish and rice. In 2006 Japanese women set a new record for life expectancy at 85.81 years, while men live an average of about 79 years.
The number of Japanese living beyond 100 has almost quadrupled over the past 10 years. There were 32,295 centenarians in 2007, according to the Health Ministry.
Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Indiana, is recognized as the world's oldest person at age 114, according to Guinness World Records. She was born on April 20, 1893.
Kaku Yamanaka, Japan's oldest person, is all smiles in this undated photo. Yamanaka has died of old age in central Japan, officials said Saturday, April 5, 2008. She was 113. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
What’s with all these “oldest” people dying lately?
May God rest her soul.
Are you gonna be the next one to go? LOL
This is one club where being number one is not all it’s cracked up to be, eh. ;-)
I was thinking the same thing. She was the oldest person for just a month and change.
May be some “Oldest Person in Japan Curse”, or something like that.
Years ago, a journalist was asking one of the country’s oldest women about her age: (True story)
Journalist: What do you think contributes to your longevity?
Old Woman: I dunno. I guess it is because I gave up tobacci and hard licker!
Journalist: When did you do that?
Old Woman” Oh, I guess it’s been about three months, now.
LOL.
You know, if I were a single man, I might ask that mummy out.
That's a good-looking mummy!
Being the oldest person is life threathening
Yamanaka became Japan's oldest person when Tsuneyo Toyonaga, 113, died in FebruarySurvived less than two months.
Yet consider how rarely you read of the second oldest person dying.
Hopefully this will be me sometime around 2100. I’ll tell the reporters that it was the bacon, cigars and whiskey that kept me alive.
RIP.
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