Misao Okawa : World’s oldest person turns 117

Misao Okawa, the daughter of a kimono maker, made the comment on Wednesday at a celebration a day before her 117th birthday.

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Misao Okawa from Osaka in Japan, who was born on 5 March 1898 when Queen Victoria was still on the throne, once attributed her longevity to a diet of eating sushi and having at least eight hours of sleep.

“Eat and sleep and you will live a long time. You have to learn to relax,” she told the Telegraph.

She marked her milestone birthday with her family at Kurenai Nursing Home. She is the third person to reach that age in the world and is ranked the first oldest person in Japan. However, she admitted 117 years was not a long time.

Born to a kimono maker, Okawa married her husband Yukio in 1919. He died in 1931. They had two daughters and a son. She now has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

She became the world’s oldest person after the death of 116-year-old Jiroemon Kimura, on 12 June, 2013. She was also Japanese.

The oldest living man is Sakari Momoi, who was born 5 February 1903, aged 112 years, also from Japan.

The oldest person ever was French woman called Jeanne Calment, who reached 122 years. She died on 4 August 1997.

Agencies/Canadajournal