The Japanese will blow out 119 candles tomorrow Kane Tanaka, who according to the Guinness World Records is the longest-lived woman still alive in the world, current Decana of Humanity. Ms. Kane has survived so far three epidemics – the Spanish (1918-1920), the Sars (2004) and Covid 19 -, two world wars, the effects of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki and even a cancer at the age of 103.
Today the elderly lady resides in a nursing home in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka prefecture, she is still in good health and spends time playing Othello and taking short walks in the corridors of the facility. “Since I arrived here, I have no choice but to work hard, I’ll do my best!”, She said in an interview with a Japanese TV.
A healthy diet
His hobbies include calligraphy and calculus. He eats rice, fish and soup, as well as drinking plenty of water – a diet he has followed since he was around 112 years old. He still has a strong appetite, loves sweets, and drinks three cans a day of canned coffee, nutritional drinks, and sodas. Family – she never tires of repeating – means everything to her, and sleeping soundly is her secret of longevity.
The battle against cancer
At the age of 103, Tanaka was diagnosed with colon cancer, but thanks to a timely surgery in Tokyo she survived. In 2010, when he was 107, his son wrote In Good and Bad Times, 107 Years Old, a book about her that talks about her life and longevity. After the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to the pandemic, in November of the same year she was reconfirmed the role of torchbearer for the following 11 May. Unfortunately, the relay was not performed due to a technical difficulty.
The Giustitalia Association (www.associazionegiustitalia.it) tells the story of Mrs. Tanaka, which deals on a national and international scale with the protection of elderly people and of which the woman has been an honorary member for three years. On this occasion he wishes her “to blow out 120 candles, next year, in a world free from the pandemic”.
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