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03/28/2024 03:24:13 pm

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Japanese Woman Who Celebrated 117th Birthday Doesn’t Know The Secret Of Long Life

Misao Okawa

(Photo : REUTERS/Kyodo) Japanese Misao Okawa, the world's oldest living person, is celebrated by Takehiro Ogura (R), mayor of Osaka's Higashi-Sumiyoshi Ward, at an elder care facility in Osaka, western Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo March 4, 2015, the day before her 117th birthday.

Health experts give a variety of tips on how to enjoy a long life. The tips range from balanced diet to daily exercise to prayers and even a glass of red wine daily.


But for Misao Okawa, the Guinness World Records title holder as the world's oldest person, even she admits not knowing what is the secret to her long life, reports AP.

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Okawa celebrated on Wednesday her 117th birthday. Since she is the daughter of a kimono maker, it is not a surprise that she celebrated her special day wearing a pink kimono with cherry blossoms prints.

Maybe longevity has to do with living in Japan because the country has the most number of people aged 100 and above.

There are about 58,000 of them, of which 87 percent are women, indicating gender could also be a key to long life.

For her birthday celebration, the Osaka government presented her with a big floral bouquet and threw a party for her.

She lives in a nursing home in Osaka since the death of her husband in 1931. She has two daughters and a son, four grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

The nursing home staff said that Okawa, who was born in 1898, still eats well and in general good health, but they observed that she has slowed down and has some hearing difficulty.

She became the oldest person alive after the record-holder, Jiroemon Kimura, also of Japan died in June 2013 at 116 years old, when Okawa was 114 years old.

Okawa became the oldest living woman in 2013 when Koto Okubo of Japan died on January 12, 2013 at the age of 115.

Another Japanese, Sakari Momoi, is the oldest living male. He is 112, having been born on February 5, 1903. He was declared the oldest male alive after Alexander Imich of the U.S. died on June 8, 2014 at 111.

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