List of Japanese supercentenarians

Japanese supercentenarians are citizens, residents or emigrants from Japan who have attained or surpassed the age of 110 years. As of January 2015^[update], the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had validated the longevity claims of 263 Japanese supercentenarians, most of whom are women.^[1] As of 30 April 2025, the oldest-known living Japanese person is Mine Kondo (born in Aichi on 1 September 1910), who is aged 114 years, 241 days.^[2] The oldest verified Japanese and Asian person ever is Kane Tanaka (1903–2022), who lived to the age of 119 years and 107 days, making her the second-oldest validated person ever as well. Japan was also home to the world's oldest man ever, Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013), who lived to the age of 116 years and 54 days.^[3]

Chitetsu Watanabe (1907–2020), died aged 112 years and 355 days; picture taken in Taiwan during his military service in 1944.

100 oldest-known Japanese

  Deceased   Living

Rank	Name	Sex	Birth date	Death date	Age	Birthplace	Place of death or residence
01	Kane Tanaka[4]	F	2 January 1903	19 April 2022	119 years, 107 days	Fukuoka	Fukuoka
02	Nabi Tajima[4]	F	4 August 1900	21 April 2018	117 years, 260 days	Kagoshima	Kagoshima
03	Chiyo Miyako[4]	F	2 May 1901	22 July 2018	117 years, 81 days	Wakayama	Kanagawa
04	Misao Okawa[4]	F	5 March 1898	1 April 2015	117 years, 27 days	Osaka	Osaka
05	Fusa Tatsumi[5]	F	25 April 1907	12 December 2023[6]	116 years, 231 days	Osaka	Osaka
06	Tomiko Itooka[7]	F	23 May 1908	29 December 2024[8]	116 years, 220 days	Osaka	Hyōgo
07	Tane Ikai[1]	F	18 January 1879	12 July 1995	116 years, 175 days	Aichi	Aichi
08	Jiroemon Kimura[1]	M	19 April 1897	12 June 2013	116 years, 54 days	Kyoto	Kyoto
09	Shigeyo Nakachi[4]	F	1 February 1905	11 January 2021	115 years, 345 days	Saga	Saga
10	Shimoe Akiyama[4]	F	19 May 1903	29 January 2019	115 years, 255 days	Aichi	Aichi
11	Okagi Hayashi[2]	F	2 September 1909	26 April 2025	115 years, 236 days	Gifu	Gifu
12	Anonymous[4]	F	15 March 1900	27 September 2015	115 years, 196 days	Tokyo	Tokyo
13	Shin Matsushita[4]	F	30 March 1904	27 August 2019	115 years, 150 days	Miyagi	Miyagi
14	Mina Kitagawa[4]	F	3 November 1905	19 December 2020	115 years, 46 days	Shiga	Shiga
15	Yoshi Otsunari[4]	F	17 December 1906	26 January 2022	115 years, 40 days	Fukuoka	Fukuoka
16	Koto Ōkubo[1][9]	F	24 December 1897	12 January 2013	115 years, 19 days	Tokyo	Kanagawa
17	Chiyono Hasegawa[1]	F	20 November 1896	2 December 2011	115 years, 12 days	Saga	Saga
18	Anonymous[4]	F	29 April 1907	30 April 2022	115 years, 1 day	Hyogo	Hyōgo
19	Kama Chinen[1]	F	10 May 1895	2 May 2010	114 years, 357 days	Okinawa	Okinawa
20	Kahoru Furuya[4]	F	18 February 1908	25 December 2022[10]	114 years, 310 days	Shizuoka	Shizuoka
21	Kiyoko Ishiguro[4]	F	4 March 1901	5 December 2015	114 years, 276 days	Tokyo	Kanagawa
22	Yukie Hino[4]	F	17 April 1902	13 January 2017	114 years, 271 days	Niigata	Niigata
23	Mine Kondō[2]	F	1 September 1910	Living	114 years, 241 days	Aichi	Aichi
24	Hide Ohira[1]	F	15 September 1880	9 May 1995	114 years, 236 days	Wakayama	Wakayama
25	Masa Matsumoto[7]	F	29 November 1909	9 July 2024[11]	114 years, 223 days	Shiga	Kanagawa
26	Yone Minagawa[1]	F	4 January 1893	13 August 2007	114 years, 221 days	Fukuoka	Fukuoka
27	Ura Koyama[1]	F	30 August 1890	5 April 2005	114 years, 218 days	Hiroshima	Fukuoka
28	Yoshi Baba[4]	F	3 June 1907	4 January 2022	114 years, 215 days	Yamanashi	Yamanashi
29	Iso Nakamura[4]	F	23 April 1903	23 November 2017	114 years, 214 days	Ishikawa	Ishikawa
30	Haruno Yamashita[12]	F	19 February 1905	4 September 2019	114 years, 197 days	Fukuoka	Fukuoka
31	Mitsue Toyoda[4]	F	15 February 1902	25 August 2016	114 years, 192 days	Ōita	Ōita
32	Tase Matsunaga[1]	F	11 May 1884	18 November 1998	114 years, 191 days	Niigata	Tokyo
	Kame Ganeko[4]	F	10 April 1905	18 October 2019		Okinawa	Okinawa
34	Yukichi Chuganji[1]	M	23 March 1889	28 September 2003	114 years, 189 days	Fukuoka	Fukuoka
35	Kame Nakamura[1]	F	8 March 1898	12 September 2012	114 years, 188 days	Okinawa	Okinawa
36	Mitoyo Kawate[1]	F	15 May 1889	13 November 2003	114 years, 182 days	Hiroshima	Hiroshima
37	Ina Okazawa[7]	F	10 March 1910	9 August 2024[13]	114 years, 152 days	Ibaraki	Ibaraki
38	Toshie Yorimitsu[4]	F	30 September 1901	28 February 2016	114 years, 151 days	Kōchi	Okinawa
39	Ushi Makishi[14]	F	15 February 1909	4 July 2023[15]	114 years, 139 days	Okinawa	Okinawa
40	Kimiko Ono[16]	F	20 June 1908	31 October 2022	114 years, 133 days	Wakayama	Osaka
41	Masu Usui[2]	F	18 December 1910	Living	114 years, 133 days	Shizuoka	Shizuoka
42	Tae Ito[4]	F	11 July 1903	13 November 2017	114 years, 125 days	Iwate	Iwate
43	Hama Yasukawa[4]	F	19 January 1907	23 May 2021	114 years, 124 days	Hyōgo	Hyōgo
44	Chiyo Shiraishi[1]	F	6 August 1895	19 November 2009	114 years, 105 days	Fukushima	Ibaraki
45	Hisako Shiroishi[7]	F	19 May 1910	26 August 2024[17]	114 years, 99 days	Saitama	Saitama
46	Miyoko Hiroyasu[2]	F	23 January 1911	Living	114 years, 97 days	Ōita	Ōita
47	Michiko Yamazaki[18]	F	28 July 1905	31 October 2019	114 years, 95 days	Nagano	Nagano
48	Asa Takii[1]	F	28 April 1884	31 July 1998	114 years, 94 days	Hiroshima	Hiroshima
49	Tane Matsubara[7]	F	15 October 1909	16 January 2024[19]	114 years, 93 days	Tochigi	Hokkaido
50	Waka Shirahama[20]	F	26 March 1878	16 June 1992	114 years, 82 days	Kagoshima	Miyazaki
	Osugi Sogo[21]	F	14 August 1905	4 November 2019		Hiroshima	Ehime
52	Suekiku Miyanaga[1]	F	7 April 1884	20 June 1998	114 years, 74 days	Kagoshima	Kagoshima
53	Yasue Okai[5]	F	25 November 1908	6 February 2023	114 years, 73 days	Osaka	Osaka
54	Shige Hirooka[1]	F	16 January 1897	29 March 2011	114 years, 72 days	Osaka	Osaka
55	Kiyo Komatsu[2]	F	27 January 1911	10 March 2025[22]	114 years, 42 days	Ishikawa	Saitama
56	Hide Hamabe[5]	F	3 December 1908	10 January 2023[23]	114 years, 38 days	Miyazaki	Miyazaki
	Seki Yoshida[24]	F	4 January 1910	11 February 2024[25]		Ibaraki	Ibaraki
58	Tomoe Iwata[4]	F	25 March 1904	13 April 2018	114 years, 19 days	Iwate	Iwate
59	Tane Yonekura[4]	F	2 May 1904	19 May 2018	114 years, 17 days	Kagoshima	Kagoshima
60	Kura Bingo[4]	F	20 October 1905	31 October 2019	114 years, 11 days	Nara	Nara
61	Yoshiyo Bessho[4]	F	1 April 1904	8 April 2018	114 years, 7 days	Okayama	Okayama
62	Fujiko Mihara[7]	F	13 December 1910	18 December 2024[26]	114 years, 5 days	Ehime	Ehime
63	Kikue Taira[7]	F	26 April 1910	18 April 2024	113 years, 358 days	Okinawa	Okinawa
64	Hatsue Ono[1]	F	31 October 1898	17 October 2012	113 years, 352 days	Iwate	Hokkaido
65	Yasu Akino[1]	F	1 March 1885	12 February 1999	113 years, 348 days	Shizuoka	Shizuoka
66	Shigeko Kagawa[2]	F	28 May 1911	Living	113 years, 337 days	Nara	Nara
67	Nahi Yonamine[4]	F	9 March 1908	7 February 2022	113 years, 335 days	Okinawa	Okinawa
68	Shinobu Hayashi[27]	F	15 March 1909	25 January 2023	113 years, 316 days	Kumamoto	Kumamoto
69	Sayo Taminato[4]	F	15 October 1906	7 August 2020	113 years, 297 days	Okinawa	Okinawa
	Fumi Hoshino[4]	F	30 October 1908	23 August 2022		Tokyo	Tokyo
71	Kimi Asanuma[4]	F	3 November 1905	22 August 2019	113 years, 292 days	Tokyo	Tokyo
72	Tsuneyo Toyonaga[1]	F	21 May 1894	22 February 2008	113 years, 277 days	Kōchi	Kōchi
73	Tomoji Tanabe[1]	M	18 September 1895	19 June 2009	113 years, 274 days	Miyazaki	Miyazaki
74	Mitsue Nagasaki[1]	F	18 September 1899	17 June 2013	113 years, 272 days	Kumamoto	Hiroshima
75	Hisa Ono[28]	F	8 December 1905	4 September 2019	113 years, 270 days	Saga	Saga
76	Shizue Nagata[4]	F	25 July 1903	12 April 2017	113 years, 261 days	Kumamoto	Kumamoto
	Teru Ōshiro[29]	F	10 May 1904	26 January 2018		Okinawa	Okinawa
	Kimi Kawasaki[30]	F	24 March 1909	10 December 2022		Chiba	Kanagawa
79	Hatsuno Gotō[4]	F	1 September 1903	15 May 2017	113 years, 256 days	Niigata	Tokyo
80	Tsurue Amō[4]	F	1 March 1904	6 November 2017	113 years, 250 days	Tokushima	Tokushima
81	Katsuko Tago[31]	F	28 March 1910	1 December 2023[32]	113 years, 248 days	Nagano	Tokyo
82	Katsue Kurimoto[4]	F	20 March 1907	22 November 2020	113 years, 247 days	Tokushima	Nara
83	Hisa Arai[4]	F	10 September 1904	4 May 2018	113 years, 236 days	Gifu	Gifu
84	Shige Mineshiba[33]	F	18 May 1909	6 January 2023[34]	113 years, 233 days	Aichi	Canada
85	Shitsu Nakano[1]	F	1 January 1894	19 August 2007	113 years, 230 days	Fukuoka	Fukuoka
	Kame Ganeko[35]	F	7 November 1905	25 June 2019		Fukushima	Shiga
87	Taka Tsuji[4]	F	6 August 1906	4 March 2020	113 years, 211 days	Saga	Saga
88	Nobu Kawano[2]	F	28 March 1911	22 October 2024[36]	113 years, 208 days	Ibaraki	Kanagawa
89	Shina Seki[5]	F	1 October 1909	25 April 2023[37]	113 years, 206 days	Ibaraki	Ibaraki
90	Tsukimi Kishi[4]	F	31 August 1905	19 March 2019	113 years, 200 days	Tochigi	Tochigi
91	Mitsuno Sato[38]	F	9 April 1909	6 October 2022	113 years, 180 days	Akita	Akita
92	Masazō Nonaka[4]	M	25 July 1905	20 January 2019	113 years, 179 days	Hokkaido	Hokkaido
93	Kiku Usami[4]	F	1 September 1904	26 February 2018	113 years, 178 days	Niigata	Niigata
94	Tame Yamaguchi[4]	F	20 March 1907	6 September 2020	113 years, 170 days	Kagoshima	Miyazaki
95	Masa Iseri[4]	F	19 September 1902	5 March 2016	113 years, 168 days	Kumamoto	Kumamoto
96	Koito Furukawa[1]	F	8 May 1901	11 October 2014	113 years, 156 days	Tokushima	Tokushima
97	Katsue Hiraishi[4]	F	9 June 1904	6 November 2017	113 years, 150 days	Tokushima	Tokushima
98	Yoshino Tanaka[1]	F	3 March 1900	30 July 2013	113 years, 149 days	Okinawa	Nagasaki
99	Terue Ashida[1]	F	20 September 1899	15 February 2013	113 years, 148 days	Hyōgo	Hyōgo
100	Kesa Yamada[4]	F	30 March 1907	15 August 2020	113 years, 138 days	Gunma	Gunma

Biographies

Tane Ikai

Tane Ikai (猪飼たね, Ikai Tane, 18 January 1879 – 12 July 1995) had been, at the time of her death, Japan's oldest person following the death of 114-year-old Waka Shirahama in 1992, while also being the first person in Japan to reach the ages of 115 and 116 and being the last Japanese person born in the 1870s.

Tane Ikai was born in Aichi, Empire of Japan on 18 January 1879. She married at 20 and had three sons and a daughter. She separated from her husband in 1917 at the age of 38.

On a typical day, Ikai would eat three fundamental meals of rice porridge. In 1968, at the age of 89, she moved into a nursing home where she was to live for the next 20 years. She played an active role in activities at home and enjoyed making pottery and sewing until suffering her first stroke in 1978 at the age of 99. In 1988, at the age of 109, Ikai suffered another stroke and was moved to a hospital, where she remained bedridden for the rest of her life. She died of kidney failure on 12 July 1995.

Denzō Ishizaki

Denzō Ishizaki (石崎 伝蔵, Ishizaki Denzō, 2 October 1886 (or 1884?) – 29 April 1999) was an elementary school teacher and town assembly member in his hometown Kansago, Ibaraki Prefecture. At the time of his death, Ishizaki had been the world's oldest-living man for almost 18 weeks, as well as the ninth-oldest-living person in the world.^[39] He died of multiple organ failure on 29 April 1999 at age 112 (or 114?) years and 209 days,^[40] and was the oldest Japanese man ever (until October 2001, when his record was broken by Yukichi Chuganji). However, Ishizaki claimed to be two years older, asserting that his birth register had been "delayed by two years".^[41] In July 2023, LongeviQuest determined that Ishizaki was born 18 days earlier than previously believed, based on his family records.^[42]

Yukichi Chuganji

Yukichi Chuganji (中願寺 雄吉; Chūganji Yūkichi, 23 March 1889 – 28 September 2003) was a Japanese silkworm breeder, instructor in the agricultural specialty, bank employee and community welfare officer who lived for 114 years and 189 days. At the time of his death, he was the oldest Japanese man ever and the world's oldest-living person.

He did not like to eat vegetables but liked beef, pork and chicken. He also ate toffee, drank milk, the occasional apple juice and only drank alcohol in moderation, which he believed were the secrets to a long life. During the last years of his life, he had failing eye sight and was bedridden. He died of natural causes on the evening of 28 September 2003, after being served a glass of apple juice by his 74-year-old daughter, who was his only living child.^[43] Besides 5 children, Chuganji also had 7 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Misao Okawa

Misao Okawa (大川ミサヲ, Okawa Misao, 5 March 1898 – 1 April 2015) became the world's oldest-living person following the death of 116-year-old Jiroemon Kimura in 2013 until her own death in 2015.

Misao Okawa was born to a kimono maker family on 5 March 1898 in Tenma-Ku (now Kita-ku), Osaka Prefecture, Empire of Japan. Prior to her marriage, she helped with her family's clothing business. In 1919, she married her husband Yukio, who ran his own business in Kobe. They had three children, two daughters and a son. As of February 2013, only one of her daughters, Shizuyo, and her son Hiroshi, were still alive. Her other daughter had died before her. Okawa's husband was a modern man. He enjoyed a cup of coffee and eating bread on Sundays, which was uncommon back in the 1920s. Sadly, after only twelve years of marriage, Yukio Okawa died on 20 June 1931 at the age of 36 from heart disease.^[44] Following the death of her husband, Okawa moved back to Osaka with her three children. She never remarried. After establishing a new Koseki in 1951, Okawa's younger daughter got married, followed up by her oldest daughter in 1953 and her son in 1956. From there, Okawa lived with her son and daughter-in-law. In 2000, she broke her leg at the age of 102. She said that she was doing leg squats. She was able to walk until she was age 110, after which she needed a wheelchair to prevent her from falling over.

Okawa died in Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan, on 1 April 2015 from heart failure, at the age of 117 years, 27 days.

Nabi Tajima

Nabi Tajima (田島 ナビ, Tajima Nabi, 4 August 1900 – 21 April 2018)^[45][46][47] succeeded Violet Brown as the world's oldest person after Brown's death on 15 September 2017. She died seven months later and was the last person verified as having been born in the 19th century.^[48]

Tajima was born and died on the small island of Kikaijima in the Amami Islands chain, about halfway between Okinawa and the main Japanese islands. Her husband, Tominishi Tajima (田島 富二子), died aged 93 in 1991.^[49][50] She had nine children, seven sons and two daughters,^[49] and in September 2017 she was reported to have had around 160 descendants, including great-great-great-grandchildren.^[51] She stated that her longevity was due to sleeping soundly and eating delicious food.^[48] Guinness World Records was planning to certify Tajima as the world's oldest person, but she died at a nursing home in Kikai shortly before they could do so.^[52][53]

She died at age 117 years and 260 days on 21 April 2018, and was the oldest Japanese person ever until Kane Tanaka surpassed her age on 19 September 2020.^[54]

Yasutaro Koide

Yasutaro Koide (小出 保太郎, Koide Yasutarō, 13 March 1903 – 19 January 2016) worked as a tailor for a men's clothes shop in Tsuruga, Fukui.^[55] He moved to Nagoya when he was 107 years old, to live with his daughter.^[56] When he turned 110, Koide could still read newspapers without eyeglasses and eat without dentures.^[57]

On 31 March 2014, Koide became the oldest-living person in Aichi Prefecture following the death of Nagoya resident Tsuya Miura, who died at the age of 111.^[58] The following year, he became the oldest-living man in the world following the death of Sakari Momoi on 5 July 2015,^[59] a feat which was recognized by Guinness World Records on 21 August 2015.^[55] When asked about the secret to his long life, Koide responded by stating that "the best thing is to not overdo" and recommending abstinence from smoking or drinking.^[56]

Koide died on 19 January 2016 due to heart failure and pneumonia in a hospital in Nagoya at the age of 112 years, 312 days.^[60]

Masazō Nonaka

Masazō Nonaka (野中 正造, Nonaka Masazō, 25 July 1905 – 20 January 2019) had been, at the time of his death, Japan's oldest-living man since October 2016,^[61] and the world's oldest-living man for one year, since January 2018.^[62] Nonaka was also the oldest person ever born in Hokkaidō.

He had two brothers and three sisters; Nonaka married Hatsuno Nonaka in 1931. They had five children, of whom three were living as of his death.^[63] He ran the family onsen, which opened in 1905. He spent most of his later years in a wheelchair, crediting his longevity to eating sweets and relaxing in the hot springs.^[64][65] Nonaka died on 20 January 2019, aged 113 years and 179 days.^[63][66]

Fusa Tatsumi

Fusa Tatsumi, c. 1920s

Fusa Tatsumi (巽フサ, Tatsumi Fusa, 25 April 1907 – 12 December 2023) was a Japanese supercentenarian. She was Japan's oldest-living person after the death of Kane Tanaka on 19 April 2022.^[67][68]

Fusa Tatsumi was born in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Empire of Japan on 25 April 1907.^[67] Tatsumi moved into the Hakuto nursing home in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, Japan in 2013. When she came to the nursing home she was in relatively good health, and was able to do gymnastics from her wheelchair. Aged 110, she was still able to do her own makeup.^[69] She was bedridden and rarely spoke in her later years.^[70][71] After the death of Lucile Randon of France on 17 January 2023, Tatsumi became the second-oldest-living person in the world behind Maria Branyas, a Californian-born woman of Catalan descent.^[71][72][73] The pair were the last two living people verified to have been born in 1907.^[2] Tatsumi died of respiratory failure on 12 December 2023, aged 116 years and 231 days.^[74]

Tomiko Itooka

Main article: Tomiko Itooka

Tomiko Itooka (糸岡富子, Itooka Tomiko, 23 May 1908 – 29 December 2024) was a Japanese supercentenarian. She was Japan's oldest-living person since the death of Fusa Tatsumi on 12 December 2023.^[75] Tomiko Itooka was born in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Empire of Japan on 23 May 1908.^[75] She moved into a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyōgo in 2019. She was at the time still able to move independently, but later mainly used a wheelchair. On 19 August 2024, following Maria Branyas' death, she became the world's oldest-living person. Itooka died from natural causes on 29 December 2024, aged 116 years, 220 days.^[76]

Okagi Hayashi

Okagi Hayashi (林 おかぎ, Hayashi Okagi, 2 September 1909 – 26 April 2025)^[2] was a Japanese supercentenarian, who was the oldest living person in Japan and the third-oldest-living person at the time of her death.^[77]

Okagi Hayashi was born in the village of Tsumagi (now Tsumagicho, Toki), Gifu Prefecture, Empire of Japan, on 2 September 1909. Her father was a grain wholesaler. After graduating from elementary school, she entered Nakatsu Girls' High School. At the same time she started school, she left her parents' house and lived in a high school dormitory.^[78] In her early 20s, Hayashi married an elementary school teacher. Her husband was adopted into the Hayashi family, so she never changed her maiden name.^[79] They lived in Hokkaido Prefecture until her first son was born, and then returned to Toki where she took over her family's grain wholesale business. The couple had nine children in total.^[80] She had been very cautious of her health since mid-life, drinking her homemade green juice every morning and exercising along with her husband. Until she was in her eighties, she enjoyed going on hot spring trips and gardening with her friends from school days. Hayashi practiced calligraphy until she was in her nineties. She lived with her family in her home until she was 105. At the time of her 110th birthday, she had eight living children, 22 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.^[81][82] At the age of 112, she was still able to read newspapers and enjoyed playing puzzle games.^[83] Hayashi lived in Tsumagicho, Toki City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan before her death of heart failure on 26 April 2025, aged 115 years, 236 days. ^[84]

See also

• Shigechiyo Izumi – wrongly assumed to have been the world's oldest man ever