Yahoo News World's oldest person, 116, says she wants to live as long as she can
The oldest person in the world says she wants to carry on living for as long as possible.
116-year-old Kane Tanaka was born on 2 January 1903 in Fukuoka, Japan and is currently living in a care home.
The supercentenarian was confirmed in March by the Guinness World Records as being the oldest living person.
Despite having several operations, including one for cataracts and another for colorectal cancer, Mrs Tanaka now lives a peaceful life.
She passes her days playing the board game Othello with fellow residents, and craves chocolate and fizzy drinks, her sources of energy.
In previous interviews, when asked about the secret of longevity, she said: “Eat delicious food, study, and play Othello. That’s it.”
116 year old Kane Tanaka, the world's old living person, being presented with a chocolate rendering of the characters for Reiwa. She was born in 1903, which is the 36th year of the Meiji, so has already lived in four eras. pic.twitter.com/xRWB91dwE0
— Mulboyne (@Mulboyne) April 2, 2019
Mrs Tanaka was interviewed by local media as Japan’s new emperor, Naruhito, officially began his reign on Tuesday.
Asked what she thought of the new imperial era, she said: “Because I’ve come this far, I want to live as long as I can and see how it turns out.”
Mrs Tanaka has outlived five separate emperors.
During World War Two, she worked in a store selling rice cakes, together with her husband Hideo Tanaka.
After Hideo and her son died during the war, she continued to work in the store before retiring at the age of 63.
Japan dominates the list of oldest people, both men and women.
As of February 2018, the country was believed to be home to around 69,000 people over the age of 100, of which 9,000 of them are men and 60,000 women.
