OSAKA, June 12 – A 116-year-old Japanese man listed as the world’s oldest person died early Wednesday morning in western Japan’s Kyoto Prefecture, Xinhua news agency reported.
Jiroemon Kimura, born in 1897, died of natural causes at the municipal hospital in his hometown of Kyotango City at 2:08 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
A spokesperson said Kimura had been suffering from pneumonia and was hospitalised since May.
“Kimura has been and will be a treasure of the city,” Kyotango City Mayor Yasushi Nakamura said in a statement.
Kimura was first recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person on Dec 17 last year, and more than a week later became the oldest man to have lived by reaching the age of 115 years and 253 days.
Kimura celebrated his 116th birthday in April this year. He had seven children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grand children and 15 great-great grandchildren.
Kimura’s funeral will take place on Friday. The oldest living person in the world now is 115-year-old Misao Okawa who lives in Japan’s Osaka City.
-BERNAMA
