World’s oldest person Tomiko Itooka dies; Brazilian nun now world’s oldest person
Tomiko Itooka, a 116-year-old Japanese woman who became the oldest living person in August 2024, died on Dec. 29, 2024, according to Guinness World Records. Her death was confirmed by Guinness World Records on Saturday.
Itooka was presented with the certificate of being the world’s oldest person in September 2023. According to Guinness World Records, Itooka was born in Osaka on May 23, 1908.
She reportedly attended an all-girls high school and played volleyball. She was age 32 when Japan entered World War II and she managed the office of her husband’s textile factory, Guinness said.
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Her family told Guinness that her longevity was attributed to her active lifestyle. She continued to mountain climb into her 100s. She also lived at home with her two daughters until she reached age 110.
The title of the world’s oldest person now belongs to Inah Canabarro Lucas, who is also 116 years old. She was born on June 8, 1908, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She was born two weeks after Itooka.
Amid her 10th birthday in 2018, she received an apostolic blessing from Pope Francis. Guinness said that she is among just three people still living born in the 1900s.
