Tomoji Tanabe Japanese centenarian Date of Birth: 18.09.1895 Country: Japan

1. Biography of Tomoji Tanabe
2. Early Life and Career
3. Later Years and Legacy

Biography of Tomoji Tanabe

Tomoji Tanabe was a Japanese supercentenarian who, at the time of his death at the age of 113, was the oldest living man in the world. He became the oldest man in Japan after the death of Nijiro Tokuda, who was 111 years old at the time. Following the death of Emiliano Mercado del Toro on January 24, 2007, who was 115 years old, Tanabe became the oldest living man in the world with a verified age. He was the last verified male supercentenarian born in 1895.

Early Life and Career

Tomoji Tanabe was born in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, where he lived and worked as an engineer and construction worker. He had eight children, 25 grandchildren, and 54 great-grandchildren. Tanabe attributed his longevity to abstaining from alcohol. On his 112th birthday, after receiving 100,000 yen ($870) and flowers from the local mayor, Tanabe declared, "I want to live forever. I don't want to die." He maintained excellent health, possibly due to his vegetable-based diet and daily consumption of a glass of milk at 3 p.m. He also loved eating shrimp.

Later Years and Legacy

Celebrating his 113th birthday, Tanabe said, "I am happy. I eat a lot. I don't want to die." As gifts for his birthday, he received a giant tea cup with his name and birth date engraved on it, flowers, and $1,000 from the mayor of Miyakonojo, Makoto Nagamine. An official from Miyakonojo said, "His favorite dish is fried shrimp, but as far as we know, he has reduced the amount of fatty food. He said he wants to live for another 10 years and he doesn't want to die." On June 19, 2009, Tanabe passed away in his sleep from heart failure at his home in southern Japan. He was 113 years and 274 days old.

After Tanabe's death, the oldest living man on Earth became Henry Allingham, a 113-year-old English veteran of World War I, and the oldest man in Japan became Jiroemon Kimura, a former postman from the city of Kyotango. Tanabe was one of the seven oldest verified people in the world and one of the three oldest in Japan. Although he held the title of the youngest "oldest living man" from 1999 until his official recognition in January 2007, at the time of his death, Tanabe ranked 10th among the oldest men ever to have lived and was only one day younger than Johnson Parks, who holds the 9th place. Additionally, Tanabe is one of the eleven fully verified male supercentenarians to have reached the age of 113.