Kane Tanaka, the world's oldest person, has died in Japan at the age of 119, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan.
Tanaka was born on January 2, 1903 and died on April 19, the ministry said. Guinness World Records said they were saddened to hear of Tanaka's death. "She became the oldest living person in January 2019 at the age of 116 years and 28 days," Guinness wrote on Twitter.
"She is also the second oldest person ever registered, after Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years old."
Born in 1903, Tanaka married a rice shop owner at the age of 19 and worked in the family shop until she was 103 years old. She twice survived cancer and lived through a series of historic events, including the two World Wars, the Spanish flu of 1918, and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Guinness World Records said "the titles of the oldest living person and oldest woman are currently being investigated" and that further details will be announced later.
By 2020, one in every 1,565 people in Japan was over 100 years old - more than 88% of them women.
