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World's Oldest Person Dies At Age 117

Misao Okawa, who died at age 117, posed for a photo with her son Hiroshi Okawa, 92, (left) and other family members as they celebrated her birthday last month in Osaka, Japan.
Buddhika Weerasinghe
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Misao Okawa, who died at age 117, posed for a photo with her son Hiroshi Okawa, 92, (left) and other family members as they celebrated her birthday last month in Osaka, Japan.

She was born in 1898. And now comes word that Japan's Misao Okawa has died at age 117. She had been the world's oldest person since 2013, according to Guinness World Records.

We reported on Okawa last month when she celebrated her birthday along with her family. She was known to eat three big meals each day and sleep eight hours every night, according to the head of the retirement home where she lived. He added that Okawa was particularly fond of both sushi and ramen.

"Okawa was born to the family of a kimono shop owner in Osaka in 1898, the same year the United States annexed the Hawaiian Islands and Pepsi-Cola was launched," reports The Japan Times.

The Associated Press says the title of the world's oldest person now belongs to Gertrude Weaver of Arkansas, who is 116, citing the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, which keeps records of supercentenarians.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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