A Japanese woman believed to have been the world's oldest person has died, aged 119, according to Japan's public broadcaster.
NHK reported on Monday the death of Kane Tanaka, who was born on January 2, 1903.
She died of old age at a hospital in Fukuoka city in western Japan on April 19, according to the broadcaster.
Ms Tanaka was recognised by Guinness World Records in 2019 as the world's oldest living person.
At the time, she said she had loved playing the board game Othello and studying mathematics.
Ms Tanaka's family confirmed her death in a tweet, saying, "thank you to everyone who supported us".
In an earlier tweet posted on April 13, 2022, her family said she had recently been "hospitalised and discharged repeatedly", but was still enjoying chocolate and fizzy drinks.
Ms Tanaka was the seventh of eight children in her family.
She married Hideo Tanaka in 1922, with whom she had four children and adopted another child.
Ms Tanaka was selected as one of the torchbearers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay but pulled out due to COVID-19 concerns.
She did not live to become the oldest person ever — that achievement sits with French woman Jeanne Louise Calment, who lived to 122 years of age, according to Guinness World Records.
The records organisation said it was "sad to report" Ms Tanaka's death, and sent its condolences to her family.
The titles of oldest person living and oldest living female are now being investigated, Guinness World Records said.
Japan's rapidly ageing population
Before Ms Tanaka, the previous oldest living person was another Japanese woman, Chiyo Miyako, who died in July 2018 at the age of 117.
The oldest person prior to her was also Japanese.
Japanese people tend to exhibit longevity and dominate supercentenarian lists.
Although the introduction of Western dietary habits into Japan has contributed to rising obesity rates, Western levels of obesity are still relatively rare in a nation with a culinary tradition that focuses on fish, rice, vegetables and other foods low in fat.
Age is also traditionally respected in Japan and people stay active and feel useful into their 80s and beyond.
As of last September, the country's dwindling and ageing population had 86,510 centenarians, with nine out of every 10 being women.
ABC/Wires
