Kane Tanaka at 119 has lived during the Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Heisei and current Reiwa eras
Summary
- Japan’s Kane Tanaka, who was born a year before the Russo-Japanese War began and is the world’s oldest person, celebrated her 119th birthday in Fukuoka Prefecture on Sunday.
- Notable people born in 1903 include British novelist George Orwell, film director Yasujiro Ozu and Japanese poet Misuzu Kaneko.
- Tanaka was recognized by Guinness World Records in March 2019 as the world’s oldest living person at 116 years old and also achieved an all-time Japanese age record when she became 117 years and 261 days old.
- Residing in a nursing home in Fukuoka, Tanaka interacts with staff through gestures and often challenges herself by solving number puzzles.
- When the centenarian was sent flowers on Respect for the Aged Day last September by Fukuoka Gov.