World's oldest person dies in Japan aged 119

A Japanese woman believed to have been the world's oldest person has died aged 119, public broadcaster NHK said on Monday, reporting the death of Kane Tanaka.

Born on Jan 2, 1903 - the year of the Wright Brothers' first controlled flight of their motor-driven aeroplane - Tanaka was confirmed by Guinness World Records in 2019 as the oldest living person, reports Reuters.

116-year-old Japanese woman Kane Tanaka celebrates during a ceremony to recognise her as the world's oldest person living and world's oldest woman living by the Guinness World Records in Fukuoka

She died of old age at a hospital in Fukuoka city, western Japan, on Apr 19, NHK said. During her life, she had been partial to chocolate and fizzy drinks, NHK said.

Japan has a dwindling and rapidly ageing population. As of last September, the country had 86,510 centenarians, and nine out of every 10 were women.