World's oldest person dies aged 119 in Japan

A Japanese woman recognized as the world's oldest person, Kane Tanaka, has died at age 119, just months short of her goal of reaching 120.

Born on Jan. 2, 1903, Tanaka loved playing the board game Othello and had a penchant for chocolate and fizzy drinks.She was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest living person in 2019 when she was 116.

In media occasions, she said she was still enjoying life and hoped to live until 120.Tanaka died of old age on April 19 at a hospital in Fukuoka, her hometown in southern Japan where she spent all her life, city officials said.

Japan, whose population is rapidly aging and declining, had 86,510 centenarians, 90% of them women, according to the latest ministry figures.