Riu Katō

BIOGRAPHY

Riu Katō (加藤リウ) was born in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on November 5, 1899.

She worked as a midwife in the Korean Peninsula and the Kantō region until shortly after World War II. She once said with joy that she had “delivered more babies than she could count.” After marrying a man from Yamagata Prefecture, she gave birth to and raised seven children.

At the age of 108, she moved into a nursing home.

Following the death of Mitsuno Suzuki of Yonezawa City on March 19, 2010, at the age of 110, Katō became the oldest living person in Yamagata Prefecture.

She passed away from natural causes at the nursing home on October 27, 2010, at the age of 110 years and 356 days. Her funeral was held at Yamagata St. Peter’s Church, suggesting that she may have been a Christian.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group on 28 October 2010 and later recognized by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

• “山形市　県内最高齢の加藤リウさんが死去” ― Yamagata Shimbun, October 28, 2010

GALLERY

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