Image: Itsuo Inouye/AP/Press Association Images
WITH HER 115TH birthday approaching on Tuesday, Misao Okawa has been confirmed as the world’s oldest living woman.
Guinness World Records recognised the Japanese citizen’s long life at a special ceremony today. Also in attendance was her 90-year-old son Hiroshi Okawa.
Misao was born on 5 March 1898 in Tenma, Osaka. She married in 1919 and moved to Kobe where her husband Yukio ran a business. The couple had three children – Hiroshi and two daughters.
When Yukio passed away, aged just 36, she moved back to Osaka where she remains today. According to the family, she is in good health and is surrounded with her loved ones, including her children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
She has lived through 42,000 days. She has seen six Great British monarchs, four emperors of Japan and twenty US presidents.
Misao with her grand-daughter and great-granddaughter Hibiki. Image: Guinness World Records
Misao has been given the title of oldest living woman following the death of Koto Okubo on 12 January. She was 115 years and 19 days old.
Japan is also home to the oldest living man, Jiroemon Kimura, who is 115 years and 314 days old. Both Misao and Jiroeman have lived across three centuries, witnessing the advent of the motor vehicle, aviation and mobile telephones.
Editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records Craig Glenday described Misao as “an inspiration and a testament to the Japanese lifestyle”.
Image: Guinness World Records
“It’s incredible to think that she was born before the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Vladimir Nabokov, and Walt Disney… Queen Victoria was still on the throne and the Wright Brothers were still a few years from making the first heavier-than-air flight at the time of her birth.”
The oldest person ever to have lived was Jeanne Calment of France. She was 122 years and 164 days when she passed away.
America has the most centenarians (people aged 100 or more) but Japan follows closely behind with 51,376. Of these, a huge majority (44,842) are female.
Better swap those breakfast rolls for Sushi.
More fish. Raw preferable. Longer life!
It’s not just the fish, it’s the lack of processed food in general…I bet future generations wont live as long with the likes of McDonalds opening up everywhere…
Poor Joan Burton would freak having to pay the pension for that long!!!!!!!!!!
If i was 114 i’d stick my tongue out to the world too.. nah na!
You’re one shocking scary looking spud :)
You should see me in the morning…
I’m sure you look only sMASHing…I’ll get my coat ;)
I’ll join you, now where’s my jacket…
No need for a jacket you’ll be roasted :)
Where would this end?
Stronger sex do it again
LoL!
Ah come on now ,she’s hardly still having sex ,be it strong or otherwise.
@Harry – its not about sex
Ah Lillian, you see when you use the word “sex” us men stop thinking. We never assume that you mean gender ever.
I wouldn’t want to live that long myself. Couldn’t be fun. Apart from the flying robot butlers we’ll have though.
Sorry Lillian, its just when i looked at the picture i thought she was winking at me !
Here lies the body of Mary Lee; died at the age of a hundred and three. For fifteen years she kept her virginity; not a bad record for this vicinity.
Here we have a 115 year old lady and her NINETY year old son sitting next to her, the human body really is amazing in its capabilities.
It sure is Breda ,i still have a hard on 7 hours after i first seen her picture ! I just got back from the pub where i got talking to a nurse about euthanasia and i asked her for her views on the subject…her reply was ..” i’ve never been to Asia ,but if the’re anything like the youth in Ireland i dont think i really want to go”.
Interestingly enough people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki live longer than Irish people nowadays.
Must be something in the environment.
Google: The Okinawa Way
They’ve had thousands of doctors watching for every sneeze for last 65 years.
Leave I bleedin ou!
114 years behind
Her granddaughter looks very young,the son at 90 must have been getting it up at a right old age
Considering our health care we will be lucky to live till retirement age
With all the great fish being exported to Japan it makes you wonder. What are we doing??!!??
Eating horse burgers instead of fish!
God bless her , the things she has witnessed. On the sushi thing, yeah I good. I don’t want to live past 100.
With all the great fish being exported to Japan it makes you we wonder. What are we doing??!!??
Extremely close to having an article with no comments about the government there
^ @ Collette’s comment
How many centenarians are there in America. Second place is number is quoted so why isn’t first place.
Wow.115 years old.I wish I lived that long.
There have been older people than her that lived longer but I would not want to live that long
Very dubious record to hold,all the previous holders didn’t seem to last very long.
There has been older women than her that lived longer but I would not want to live that long
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