by Alessandro Vinci
Born on January 2, 1903, she was a great lover of sweets, coffee, and fizzy drinks. She had been in and out of the hospital repeatedly lately. The record now belongs to a 118-year-old French nun
In just over eight months he would have realized his last big dream: blowing out 120 candles. Kane Tanaka, the world’s oldest person, died on April 19 at the age of 119 years, 3 months and 17 days. Born on January 2, 1903 in the Japanese prefecture of Fukuoka, she had conquered the record after the death of her predecessor: her compatriot Chiyo Miyako, who disappeared in 2018 at the age of 117. On June 15, 2025, on the other hand, it would have equaled the all-time record set by Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment (1875-1997), the longest-lived person ever to have existed with certainty.
We regret to inform you that Kane Tanaka passed away at the age of 119.
Kane was the oldest living person in the world.
– Guinness World Records (@GWR) April 25, 2022
A statement from Guinness World Records, which sent her an official certificate in 2019, informed Kane’s death on Monday. When asked what the happiest moment of her (very long) life was, she excitedly replied: Just this!. On the other hand, as the seventh of nine brothers, she had to overcome various and prohibitive challenges to achieve such a goal. In addition to being born prematurely, she had in fact survived two epidemics – the Spanish (1918-1920) and Sars (2004), then joined by Covid-19 – two world wars – particularly the effects of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – and a colon cancer diagnosed at the venerable age of 103. All experiences recounted by his son Satoshi in the 2010 book In Good and Bad Times, 107 Years Old dedicated to his mother’s life. Who would have set another record on May 11 last year without the risk of infection: that of the oldest Olympic torch bearer of all time.
They were family members who stayed with Kane until his last days. A widow since 1993, she married her cousin Hideo in 1922, with whom she had four children – two boys and two girls, plus a third adopted by her husband’s sister – and worked in an udon and rice cake business until her retirement. Instead, he lived for years in a nursing home in Higashi-ku, also in Fukuoka Prefecture. But alas, she had never left her home country: in the 1970s she had visited the United States, where she had several grandchildren, and in 1980 she had also traveled to Spain and France. In 1990 she was finally in Italy, where she returned in 1998. The secret of their longevity? No doubt: sleep soundly. However, his great hobbies include the board game Othello, the art of calligraphy and mathematical calculations. Above all, food was one of his greatest passions: sweets, coffee and lemonade above all.
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– ???? (@tanakakane0102) April 13, 2022
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that in the latest photo posted to her Twitter profile, she appears intent on sipping Oronamin C (a Japanese energy drink with a sweet citrus flavor). In the description, the family members then informed the followers about his health: Recently, Kane became ill and repeatedly went to and from the hospital. Let’s hope you’re feeling a little better now. But that was not the case. According to the same Guinness Book of World Records, his baton has now been picked up by a French nun named Lucile Randon: she was born in 1904 and turned 118 on February 11.
New record: Oldest living person – Sister Andr, 118 years and 73 days old.
Sister Andr born Lucile Randon 11 February 1904 is the oldest living person as well as the oldest nun in the world and the oldest person to have survived COVID-19? pic.twitter.com/3HisPI4saO
– Guinness World Records (@GWR) April 25, 2022
April 26, 2022 (Change April 26, 2022 | 20:35)
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