My great-grandmother lived to be 117 years old. She died when I was a young child and I remember her very well. She made quilts until 2 years before her death and she played cards every night with my grandmother (her daughter) and my grandfather (her son-in-law). She also had a wonderful mind, she became slightly forgetful towards the end of her life, but she always knew everyone and never missed one evening of playing cards. Her longevity was never recognized by any main registry because she lived in a very small town on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, but our family was very amazed and thankful by her great long life. My grandmother, her daughter, only lived 67 years though...
CB, Atlanta, GA, USA

Cida, Atlanta, USA / GA

If living to such a ripe age is that easy, wouldn't every one be living equally long from now onwards? I do not believe that it is the only secret method. There must be something else. Well, from this article, I suppose that Ms Yone Minagawa is the oldest living person, not Mr. Tanabe. As I believe, all good and blessed people will live long if they persevere to control themselves.

May God bless everyone else out there!

Melissa, Singapore, Singapore

SC...Get some air...You'll live longer too.....

JC, Minneapolis, USA/MN

It's in the worlds best history book.

"Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died."
Genesis 5:27

Natalie, riverside,

To all of you who has lived to reach such a milestone as you have, You are blessed.You are living proof of The benefits you receive from Godif you"Honor your parents"An example so badly needed today as so many persons today are not getting out of their teens,far less reaching the "Three score and ten* that is appointed unto man. MAy you continue to outlive many,under the guide and protection of your heavenly father, Love Always,

Michael, Bridgetown, Barbados,W.I

There is no actual evidence other than a biblical anecdote that Methusala lived 969 years. I suspect that the scribes of the day
mistranslated months to being years in which case Methusala lived to an average old age in today's terms and perhaps longer than average in terms of the age in which he lived.

kuehn, Melbourne, Australia

The Bible says that if peopole would honor their parents, they were promised a long life. I would love to see someone do a study on these elders to see if that could be the missing link. Maybe all these cenetarians were just really obedient and honored their parents....

Cindy, Huntington, WV, USA

imagine if we in the united states lived as long as mr.tanabe, would our social securuty system be hurting or what.

francis (buzz) morrow jr., philadelphia, pa

"No, the oldest living human on record was a guy named Methuselah.

Genesis 5:27
"Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died."

Quasar, Ontario , CA"



Go ahead and keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel good.

Kory, Alexandria, USA/VA

Sir,
The use of nuclear bombing against civilians, our fellow human beings not some untermenschen, is barbaric. To make a joke of it is crass and beyond contempt. It is a particularly sad reflection upon the state of humanity, when one race of humans is considered of lesser value than another in this post 11/9 world. Grow up.

SC, London, United Kingdom

No, the oldest living human on record was a guy named Methuselah.

Genesis 5:27
"Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died."

Quasar, Ontario , CA

Actually the USA's population of 71,000 centenarians is more than double that of Japan

Robert Young, Atlanta, USA

This story says more about Japanese documentation than the survival of an odd individual. Necessarily these statistics depent upon reliable documentation of his birth.

In Greece and Southern Europe where longevity is suspected to be significantly greater, documentation is sketchy due to the Balkan Wars and other conflicts at the turn of the 19th/20th Centuries.

Last year I attended the 112th Name Day party (anniversary of baptism - they do not celebrate birthdays) of Vassilis Lessis Snr in my village (Corfu/Greece). (but no birth certificate). He is still physically and mentally fit and well and regularly told off for digging his garden. He also has vivid memories of the wars with the Byzantine empire in which he fought. This suggests that he is older than claimed.

He is NOT the oldest person in the village. There are two women that are 3 to 4 years older than he.

Brian Vallance, LEFKIMMI, Greece

How is this laudable? Being a geezer for 40+ years? Abjuring all pleasure? Forget it. Make my steak rare, and my scotch neat, baby.

jimmy the goose, chicago, IL USA

I hope he was joking when he said he was sorry he's still alive. :D God bless him, he's living history. A treasure. ALL of them are!

And I agree with others - he doesn't LOOK 111! Wonderful. Thanks for the story, timesonline!

Deb, Orlando, FL, USA

My X-File Theory, this is a result of the atomic bomb fallout in those areas.

Willow, USA, USA

I wonder if the high number of 100+'s around Hiroshima and the island of Okinawa has to do with the atomic bomb drops. If they helped create Godzilla, then maybe they helped extend the aging process ( of course, outside of those who died right away ). Radiation has a long history of causing super strength and super size.

Sonny Park, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA

I agree, he doesn't look 111. My mother is Japanese and her whole family, except her, still live there. They're actually from the same island as this man - Kyushu (not Kyushi as stated in the article). My grandmother will be 90 in November and looking at her, she looks like American women do in their 60s or 70s. She has very few wrinkles. And in her almost 90 years, she has had no health problems other than arthritis. It's amazing. Even my mother, who is now in her early 60's, looks very young. People have asked me if I'm her OLDER sister!! (I am in my late 20's!!) I'm not sure if that's a compliment to her or an insult to me. My mother attributes her youthful look to staying out of the sun. Maybe that's this man's secret too.

Kristi, Detroit, MI, USA

The old boy is looking great for 111!

Alex, Southampton, UK

is he really 111? he´s got a complexion of a person at least 40 years younger. Maybe i will try the vegetable-diet.

asta, hamburg, germany

The healthy aging phenomenon of the Okinawans is well document on the Okinawa Centenarian Study website: http://okicent.org

The scientists from the same study also offer an online program based on the lessons learned from these lean and long-lived people: http://okinawa-diet.com">Okinawa-Diet.com

Maybe if we follow the example of the Okinawan elders we can all learn to live as long as Mr. Tanabe!

Rachel M, London,

I wonder if Mr. Tanabe has been following The Okinawa Diet Program?

Fiona M, London,

The oldest man lives in Ukraine aged 116 at the moment. Check the BBC story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6454317.stm

best, Olexander

Olexander Hryb, London, UK

Never ate fried foods eh?

How about putting a statue of him in frontt of every McDonald's and Burger KIng?

And who says these 2 productive enterprises aren't proving beneficial to society's population pyramid?

Eugene, Heidelberg, germany