Kane Tanaka holds the world record for the oldest alive person at the time of writing (Japan). Kane, who is currently 118 years old, is only four years away from breaking the record for the oldest person ever held by Jeanne Louise Calment (France), who was born on February 21, 1875, and died at the age of 122.
Kane Tanaka, née Ota, was born on January 2, 1903, in the town of Wajir, on the southern island of Kyushu, to Kumayoshi and Kuma Ota, as their third daughter and seventh child. Kane grew up in the closing years of the Meiji period, which ended when she was nine years old, in 1912. Kane had two boys and two daughters with her cousin Hideo Tanaka, whom she married in 1922.
Following WWII, the couple continued to work in the store, with Kane converting to Christianity under the influence of US military pastors stationed nearby. Tanaka has suffered from several serious illnesses, including paratyphoid fever, which she contracted with her adoptive daughter when she was 35 years old.
Tanaka was officially awarded the titles of “World’s Oldest Living Person” and “World’s Oldest Living Woman” by Guinness World Records on March 9, 2019, proving her claim to longevity.
