World’s Oldest Living Person Celebrates Her 117th Birthday

Jan 06, 2020 by apost team

Guinness World Records confirmed in 2019 that Kane Tanaka from Japan was the oldest living person on the planet. The supercentenarian was born on January 2, 1903, marking this past date her 117th birthday. 

According to the Metro, Tanaka celebrated her big milestone by eating strawberries and cream. The 117-year-old regularly gets up at 6 a.m. each day and by the afternoon is studying calligraphy and math.

Tanaka was born prematurely to her parents who had had six children before her. She was married off to Hideo Tanaka just four days after her 19th birthday. 

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Tanaka's and her husband went on to have four children before adopting a fifth. Her husband and eldest son were killed in World War 2 leaving her to run the family business by herself. She retired at the age of 63. 

Although Tanaka is the oldest living person in the world currently, she is only 5 years shy of holding the record for the oldest person ever. Tanaka currently has five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. 

She told The Metro that she credits her family, sleep and hope as the keys to longevity. In 2018, she said she would like to live to at least 120-years-old. Her family says that Tanaka regularly enjoys soda and sweets and has a big appetite. 

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