Fukuoka (Japan): Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman believed to have been the world’s oldest person, has died aged 119. Tanaka died of old age at a hospital in southwestern Fukuoka city on April 19, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported. She was born in the Fukuoka region on January 2, 1903 - the same year the Wright brothers flew for the first time and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. She was confirmed as the world’s oldest living person by Guinness World Records in 2019.
Tanaka was in relatively good health until recently and lived at a nursing home, where she enjoyed board games, solving maths problems, fizzy drinks and chocolate. She had been planning to join last year’s torch relay for the Olympic Games but pulled out because of coronavirus concerns.
In her younger years, Tanaka ran various businesses including a noodle shop and a rice cake store. She married Hideo Tanaka a century ago in 1922, giving birth to four children and adopting a fifth.
