Harue Baba (馬場ハルエ)

BIOGRAPHY

Harue Baba (馬場ハルエ) was born on 20 March 1914 in Nishimera Village, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, as the second of four siblings and the eldest daughter. She married in her 20s, and had two children.

When she was around the age of 60, her husband passed away, and Baba lived alone until she was 99. After breakfast each day, she spent her time working hard in the fields until sunset. On rainy days, she enjoyed knitting and made items such as sweaters, hats, and kotatsu covers by hand.
Baba never ate meat other than chicken and maintained a diet centered on home-grown vegetables, particularly pumpkins and taro. Thanks to this lifestyle, she avoided maor illnesses and chronic conditions throughout her life.

At the age of 99 years and 10 months, she moved into a nursing home. Later, her sister, who was four years younger (and lived to 103), also entered the same nursing home. The two sisters shared their lives together there for about three years.

Her family described her as a strong-willed and hard-working woman. At the age of 110, Baba could still eat three meals a day on her own and was able to stand up by herself when using the toilet. In July 2024, for Tanabata Festival, she hand-wrote a tanzaku (a wish on a strip of paper) expressing her hope: “I want to live to be 120 years old.”

Baba had been living in a long-term care ward of a hospital in Saito City, Miyazaki Prefecture, where she received nursing care. On March 20, 2025, she celebrated her 111th birthday there in good health. On that day, she met with her family and reportedly told them herself that she was feeling well. During this period, she participated in recreational activities with other residents during the day, was able to write her own name by hand, maintained a strong appetite, and ate independently.

Harue Baba passed away from natural causes on February 16, 2026, at the age of 111 years and 333 days. Following her death, 108-year-old Ryo Maeda of Miyakonojō City became the oldest resident in Miyazaki Prefecture.

RECOGNITION

In September 2024, she was reported to be the second-oldest living person in Miyazaki Prefecture. On 7 November, following the passing of Yuriko Tsurumaru, she became the oldest living resident of Miyazaki Prefecture.

Her age was verified by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), as well as Ryohei Asano and Yumi Yamamoto, and validated by LongeviQuest on 8 November 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

(The biography of Mrs. Harue Baba was compiled entirely through interviews with her family.)

GALLERY

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