Kane Tanaka, the world's oldest person, has died in Japan aged 119, according to a statement released by the country's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Tanaka, who was born on Jan. 2, 1903, died on April 19, the ministry said.

 

Guinness World Records said they were saddened to hear of Tanaka's passing, and said the news of her death had been confirmed by senior gerontology consultant Robert Young, who also helped confirm her record as the oldest person alive back in 2019.

Tweeting about her death, Guinness World Records said: "She became the oldest living person in January 2019 at the age of 116 years and 28 days.

"She is also the second oldest person ever recorded, behind only Jeanne Calment who lived to the age of 122."

Tanaka's family said in a tweet earlier this month that she had been frequently sick recently and "in and out of hospital."

Born in 1903, Tanaka married a rice shop owner at the age of 19, and worked in the family store until she was 103.

She twice survived cancer and lived through a multitude of historical events, surviving two world wars and the 1918 Spanish flu -- as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

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