TOKYO >> Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman born before the start of World War I and the sinking of the Titanic and who was believed to be the oldest person in the world, died at a nursing home in Ashiya, Japan. She was 116.
In a statement released Saturday, Ashiya Mayor Ryosuke Takashima said Itooka died Dec. 28. He did not give a cause, but local news media reports said she died peacefully of complications related to old age.
“I offer my deepest condolences,” Takashima said. “Ms. Itooka gave us great courage and hope throughout her long life. I would like to express my gratitude once again.”
Itooka was declared the oldest living person by records kept according to Guinness World Records in September after the death of Maria Branyas Morera of Spain at age 117.
Itooka was born Tomiko Yano on May 23, 1908, in the city of Osaka, one of three children in a family that ran a clothing store. At that time, her country was a rising imperial power that had just defeated czarist Russia in war and was embarking on expansion into mainland Asia.
In 1979, her husband died after 51 years of marriage. Itooka then moved to Ashiya, a city outside Osaka, where she remained an avid hiker into her 80s.