Japan's Oldest Person Fusa Tatsumi Dies at 116

Japan's oldest person, Fusa Tatsumi, died at 116 on December 12 at 9:25 am. Tatsumi was born on April 25, 1907, in Yao City, Osaka Prefecture.

Kyodo News reported that she spent her last days at a nursing home in Kashiwara. Tatsumi had an impact on the employees in the nursing home as she was known for often greeting them.

Tatsumi Dies at 116

(Photo : KEN SHIMIZU/AFP via Getty Images)
Nurses take care of a patient who was evacuated from a nursing home in Tomioka town, 60 km from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture, in Koriyama on March 18, 2011. Japan battled a nuclear and humanitarian crisis as engineers worked to restore power to a stricken atomic plant, while the toll of dead and missing from the quake and tsunami topped 16,000.

Tatsumi was the second daughter of six children, who married at 32 years old. She raised three children, who went on to grace her with eight great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

"I can only be grateful that she survived with the help of generous nursing care," Tatsumi's oldest son said. He proudly added Tatsumi was the oldest mother in Japan, who was able to accomplish something that no one could do.

The Osaka resident was proclaimed the oldest person in Japan after Kane Tanaka's death, who died on April 19, 2022, at 119 years old. In September 2023, Tatsumi received a congratulatory letter from Osaka Prefecture Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura to honor her long life.

Yoshimura posted on X, formerly Twitter, about Tatsumi's death, acknowledging the letter and her longevity. "I still can't forget how energetic Fusa Tatsumi was," he wrote.

He noted that they will sincerely pray for the repose of Fusa Tatsumi's soul.

World's Oldest Person

According to Fox News, Guinness World Records announced María Branyas Morera of Spain as the oldest person living in the world. Her title came after the death of French nun Sister André, aged 118.

She encountered and survived two world wars, a civil war, and two global pandemics.

Morera turned 116 years old on January 17, 2023. She spent the last 22 years in a nursing home in Catalonia, Spain, but was born and raised in San Francisco. Despite Morera's old age, she still uses Twitter to communicate with her followers with the help of her daughter. Her bio says, "I am very old, but not an idiot."

Her family migrated to the US for eight years when she was only one year old. Morera's father died of pulmonary tuberculosis, and Morera permanently lost her hearing in one ear. Furthermore, she was believed to be the oldest person to survive COVID-19, testing positive in May 2020.

Morera's tweets expressed that she was surprised and grateful for the interest generated by her new status. However, she said she would not entertain any more interviews as she was already tired and stressed.

She tweeted that she needs peace and tranquility as she lived in the Tura Residence for 22 years and does not want the routine of the residents or the staff who care for them to change. The Residència Santa María del Tura held a special event behind closed doors to acknowledge Morera's title in the coming days.