Mrs. Itooka celebrated her 116th birthday on May 23, 2024
On January 4, Kyodo news agency quoted information from the Ashiya city government (Hyogo province, Japan) saying that the world’s oldest woman, Ms. Tomiko Itooka, has just passed away at the age of 116.
Mrs. Itooka has 4 children and 5 grandchildren. She passed away on December 29, 2024 at a nursing home in Ashiya, where she had lived since 2019.
Born on May 23, 1908 in Osaka near Ashiya, Ms. Iooka was recognized as the world’s oldest living woman after the Spanish woman Maria Branyas Morera passed away in August 2024 at the age of 117.
“Mrs. Itooka has brought us courage and hope throughout her long life. We thank her for that,” said Mayor Ryosuke Takashima (27 years old) in Ashiya city, according to AFP. know.
Born into a family of three siblings, Ms. Iooka has lived through world wars and pandemics as well as technological breakthroughs. When she was a student, she played volleyball.
In his old age, Itooka likes bananas and Calpis, a popular milk beverage in Japan, according to Mayor Takashima.
Women typically have a long life expectancy in Japan, but the country is facing a worsening demographic crisis as a growing elderly population leads to skyrocketing health and welfare costs, while The workforce that has to pay for these costs has decreased.
As of September, Japan had more than 95,000 people aged 100 or older, 88% of whom were women. Of Japan’s 124 million people, nearly 1/3 are aged 65 or older.
