Tomiko Itooka lived through wars and pandemics, loved bananas and Calpis
The oldest woman in the world, Japanese Tomiko Itooka, has died at the age of 116, in the city of Ashiya (southern Japan) where she lived. Ms. Itooka, who had four children and five grandchildren, died on Dec. 29 at the seniors’ residence where she had resided since 2019, Ashiya’s mayor said in a news release.
Born on May 23, 1908 in Osaka, not far from Ashiya, she was considered the oldest of humanity after the death, in August 2024, of the Spanish Maria Branyas Morera at the age of 117.
“Ms. Itooka gave us courage and hope throughout her long life,” commented Ashiya Mayor Ryosuke Takashima.
Coming from a family with three children, a volleyball player in her youth, she has lived through wars, pandemics and technological revolutions. As an old woman, she loved bananas and Calpis, a lactic ferment-based drink very popular in Japan, we read in the city hall’s press release. Japan is currently experiencing a demographic crisis, with a growing elderly population and a decreasing working population financing rising medical and social costs. As of September, Japan had more than 95,000 centenarians, 88% of them women. Nearly a third of the country’s 124 million people are 65 and older.
