Iijima was born in Japan on 25 March 1896. She was married and had six children.

At the age of 96, Iijima started using a wheelchair permanently after suffering with back problems. She became the oldest resident of Chiba prefecture after the death of 111-year-old Naka Matsuzaki on 4 March 2007.

At the age of 112, she lived with one of her grandchildren and their family. She was partially deaf, but was able to choose her own meals, eating a wide variety of foods, including ones she disliked. She also enjoyed singing karaoke; two of her favourite songs were “Kitaguni no haru” and “Ringo no uta”.

Iijima died of pneumonia on 22 March 2009 at the age of 112 years, 362 days. Her Chiba longevity record stood until January 2017, when it was broken by Sato Nagaoka.