japan Archives

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Yasu Kushima of Japan at age 111. She was born in Japan on 10 May 1901. She ran a stationery store at her home until she was in her 80s. As of 2011, at the age of 110, she had nine grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.

Despite some difficulties with vision and hearing at 103, Kushima remained in good health and enjoyed sharing three meals a day with her family. Grapes and coffee were her favorite indulgences. Her sharp mind, honed from years of managing a stationery store, still allowed her to perform calculations with ease, even reciting multiplication tables at the age of 106. When she was at home, she would often sit in her living room and chat with friends from the neighborhood.

In September 2011, aged 110.
(Source: Shizuoka Shimbun)

Kushima attributed her long life to simple pleasures: avoiding picky eating, maintaining a regular diet, and staying hydrated. Between 2004 and 2011, Kushida, the oldest person in Shimada City then, received seven mayoral visits for Japan’s Respect for the Aged Day. During her first visit at 103, she was gifted a cushion and roses. In 2005, she moved to a nursing home in Shimada City, where she continued to receive visits and gifts from officials. Despite declining eyesight and hearing, Kushima remained active through singing activities and maintained basic communication skills with family and staff. Her devoted grandson visited her daily.

Yasu Kushima passed away at her nursing home in Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, on 2 July 2012, at the age of 111 years, 53 days. At the time of death, she was the second-oldest living person in Shizuoka Prefecture, after Yasuko Kimura.

LongeviQuest congratulates Yasu Kushima’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Kushima’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Michiko Matsumoto of Japan at age 111. She was born in Japan on 1 February 1904. She was a wife and mother.

At the age of 99, Matsumoto received a special visit from the mayor of Saijō City, where she resided with her grandson and his wife. This visit was followed by several others, with the mayor presenting her with gifts and celebrating her longevity. Despite her age, Matsumoto remained remarkably active, climbing stairs multiple times a day. She attributed her long life to her supportive family and her enjoyment of sweets and meat.

Matsumoto (right) at the age of 110, with the Mayor of Saijō, Masaru Aono. (Source: Saijō City)

In September 2014, she was reported as the third-oldest living person in Ehime Prefecture, after Yoneno Kouno and Hikari Kataoka. Upon Kataoka’s passing in February 2015, she became the second-oldest living person in the Prefecture.

Michiko Matsumoto passed away in Saijō City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, on 31 March 2015, at the age of 111 years, 58 days.

LongeviQuest congratulates Michiko Matsumoto’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Matsumoto’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is saddened to report the passing of Katsuko Tago. She was born in Ōmachi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan on 28 March 1910 and passed away in Higashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan on 1 December 2023 at 113 years, 248 days. At the time of her death, Tago was the oldest living person in Tokyo, Japan.

In January 2022, aged 111.
(Source: Courtesy of the family)

Katsuko Tago assisted her father in running a kimono shop for several years before relocating to Tokyo. In Tokyo, she got married, and the couple had seven children. Tago played the role of a supportive housewife while her husband pursued a career as a bank branch manager.

Tago maintained an active lifestyle for over 90 years. She participated in a monthly doll-making class in her hometown. She continued expressing her creativity through crafting dolls and carving wood until the age of 103. Unfortunately, a femur fracture required her to undergo surgery. She persevered and regained her ability to walk through rehabilitation. However, two years later, another fracture led her to receive care in a nursing home.

Tago believed that her favorite strawberry-flavored chocolate was the secret to her longevity, and she ate it every day.
Her family and nursing home staff said that she lived her life with her ideas and opinions and always made all her daily decisions on her own. Until she was about 110 years old, she called her family every day to update them on what was happening at her nursing home.

Mrs. Tago’s sad news was directly confirmed through her family.

LongeviQuest is extending our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends of Mrs. Katsuko Tago.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Fumie Suzuki Japan at age 111. She was born in Ōtaki, Chiba Prefecture, Japan on 20 June 1912. Suzuki pursued studies in etiquette at a mansion in Tokyo, where she met her future husband.

After marrying, the couple moved to Kanda, Tokyo. They evacuated back to her hometown in Chiba Prefecture with their four young children on March 10, 1945, the day before the Tokyo air raids. They lived in Chiba for several years after World War II and had their youngest child in 1947. In 1949, they returned to Shibuya, Tokyo. After raising her children, she devoted her time to caring for her grandchildren, traveling regularly between her children’s homes in Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa. Known for her straightforward personality, Suzuki consistently instilled the value of honesty in her children, teaching them that “lying is not good” and emphasizing the importance of living a life with integrity.

At the age of 111.
(Source: Courtesy of the nursing home)

In her early 80s, Suzuki moved to Atsugi City in Kanagawa Prefecture, close to her eldest son’s home. She chose to live independently and continued to pursue various hobbies. She also developed a passion for creating picture letters. Suzuki also frequently traveled with her children throughout her later years, venturing to destinations like Hakone and Atami until her late 90s. Until the age of 107, she enjoyed crafting letters, making dolls, and engaging in various handicrafts. At 107, she suffered a fall at home, resulting in a broken hip. After a two-month hospitalization, she moved into a nursing home in Aikawa Town.

In September 2023, Suzuki was reported as the fifth-oldest living person in Kanagawa Prefecture.

For more information, please view Fumie Suzuki’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to announce that Mrs. Kane Toriba, the oldest living resident of Fukaya, Japan, celebrated her 112th birthday on December 4th. LongeviQuest has sent Kane Toriba congratulatory flowers and letters to celebrate her milestone. In September 2018, she was reported as the oldest living person in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture.

Celebratory flowers and greetings for her 112th birthday.

Toriba was born in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture, Japan on 4 December 1911. After finishing elementary school, she dedicated several years to assisting her parents on their farm. Later, she fell in love and married her husband. The couple subsequently had five children.

Her daily routine includes morning calf massages with a massager, newspaper reading, attending a daycare service four times a week, and a 15-minute footbath before bed to warm her legs. This routine, organized by her son to improve blood circulation in her legs, has been her practice for 20 years. At 109, she was hospitalized four times in a year due to cholecystitis but made a full recovery after each month-long stay and has not had another episode since. Despite her age, she remains active and doesn’t take naps. She spends her days sitting in a wheelchair and even reads the newspaper without glasses every morning. She is in such good physical condition that, at the age of 112, she was able to go on an overnight trip with her children to a hot spring inn about a 30-minute drive away.

For more information, please view Mrs. Toriba’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Akino Ueda at 111 years old. She is a Japanese supercentenarian known as the oldest resident in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, Japan.

Akino was born on 5 November 1912 in Japan.

In September 2019, aged 106. (Source: Sumida Ward Public Relations)

During her 110th birthday, it was reported that she was still able to eat some fluids and jellies by herself. In September 2023, Akino was recognized as the oldest living resident of Sumida Ward in Tokyo. Because of this, she was visited by the mayor of the ward. A bouquet of flowers and a congratulatory letter were sent to her family on her behalf as she is currently in a nursing home.

For more information, please visit Akino Ueda’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Aiko Ōkubo at 110 years old. She was a Japanese supercentenarian born on 28 January 1913 in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

In 1934, she was married to a technical civil engineering officer from the Ministry of Home Affairs (now the Home Ministry of Japan). She had four children with him.

In 1938, the family travelled across the sea to live in Manchuria, Northeastern China, which was a puppet state of the Japanese empire. Aside from enduring extreme temperatures during winter, the family also had to endure too many hardships such as their 20 km walk to Dashiqiao. They even got bundled into a freight train going north wherein they jump off the train because they don’t know where they are going. After a long, perilous journey in China, the family managed to get into a boat bound for Japan. They arrived at Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture, in June 1946.

Aiko tried to return to her hometown in Mito but found it completely burned down. On the other hand, her husband’s family was safe and unharmed, and so he inherited his family’s construction business.

In August 2014, aged 101.
(Source: ibjcp.gr.jp)

Aiko travelled around Japan to visit nursing homes and give talks about her experiences. She would also play her Nagoya harp for them. Aiko did this until she was 104 years old.

Mrs. Ōkubo was proud that she was able to raise fine and well-rounded children despite the hardships that they had to go through in China. One became a university professor, the other became a doctor, and the third managed a private elderly care facility.

Mrs. Ōkubo passed away on 22 September 2023 in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

For more information, please visit Aiko Ōkubo’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Shizuko Kiyuna of Japan at age 111. She was born in Chatan, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on 10 June 1912. After graduating from school, she spent several years helping her parents cultivate sugar cane fields. She married at the age of 17 and had four children.

Kiyuna (second from the left) with her family in 1960, at the age of 48.
(Source: Courtesy of the family)

While her husband was deployed to the Sino-Japanese War, Kiyuna remained in Okinawa. She patiently waited for his return while caring for their young children. She wrote a letter to her husband’s captain. Impressed by her letter, the captain took steps to enhance her husband’s standing within the military. Kiyuna’s family admired her strength and determination, recognizing her role in supporting her husband’s success behind the scenes during his military service. During World War II, her husband remained in Chatan Town as a civil servant. Even after the war, Kiyuna continued to support her husband in his role, managing household duties, raising their children, and maintaining a strong passion for farming. Her dedication to farming and her unwavering work ethic were so profound that she often found it difficult to take the time to attend parent-teacher conferences at her children’s schools.

Kiyuna opened a small general store called “Kiyuna Shōten” around 1957. She ran the store until she was 60 years old. After retiring, she built a house near the store. Kiyuna filled the front garden with orchids, azaleas, and other flowers while growing vegetables in the back garden. Even into her 90s, she continued to pursue various interests, including playing the Ryukyu koto and practicing calligraphy. Her calligraphy was praised for its beauty and featured on the cover of a history book about Shimoseido in Chatan Town. The book also acknowledged her establishment of Kiyuna Shōten as a significant part of the town’s history. Despite her age, Kiyuna maintained her appearance. She was always applying makeup, dressing elegantly, carrying a handbag, and walking to her son’s store every day. She instilled the importance of grooming in her granddaughters, gifting them with lipstick upon marriage or childbirth.

Kiyuna’s calligraphy on a history book about Shimoseido in Chatan Town

At the age of 98, Kiyuna moved into a nursing home due to a broken leg. She would return home for the Obon and New Year holidays until around the age of 103. Even at 106, she could still use her wheelchair independently and would make daily rounds to greet the other residents of the care home. At 111 years old, she has a healthy appetite and enjoys spending time with her fellow residents in the living room. In September 2020, she was reported as the 14th-oldest living person in Okinawa Prefecture.

On 4 July 2023, following the death of 114-year-old Ushi Makishi, she became the oldest living person in Chatan Town.

In September 2023, she was reported as the third-oldest living person in Okinawa Prefecture, behind an anonymous 114-year-old lady and Kikue Taira.

For more information, please view Shizuko Kiyuna’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Nobue Tanaka of Japan at age 110. She was born in Japan on 27 March 1912. In September 2021, she was reported as the oldest living person in Fukui Prefecture.

Nobue Tanaka passed away in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan, on 17 February 2023, at the age of 110 years, 327 days.

LongeviQuest congratulates Nobue Tanaka’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Tanaka’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Fuyo Baba of Japan at age 111. She was born in Japan on 10 January 1879. After graduating from a girl’s school in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, she married into a merchant family in Ishinomaki. The couple went on to have nine children.

At the age of 100.

On 18 October 1987, at the age of 108, she became the oldest living person in Miyagi Prefecture. As of 1990, she had 29 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren, and eight great-great-grandchildren.

Fuyo Baba passed away in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on 16 February 1990, at the age of 111 years. At the time of death, she was the second-oldest person ever recorded in Miyagi Prefecture, only after Tome Horigome (1857–1968). She was also the third-oldest living person in Japan, behind Waka Shirahama and Rin Aoyagi.

LongeviQuest congratulates Fuyo Baba’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Baba’s Directory Profile here.