World's Oldest Living Man

Posted November 1, 2008, 7:43 am


Tomoji Tanabe was born in Japan on September 18, 1895, and is currently the oldest living man in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group. He is now 113 and thought to be the fifteenth oldest living human being whose age can be verified.

Mr Tanabe is in good health, and lives with his son and daughter-in-law. He believes that his life-long abstinence from alcohol and cigarettes is a factor in reaching such an extraordinary age. He drinks milk every day and his diet consists mainly of vegetables.  He remains active both physically and mentally.

Although Tanabe is officially the world’s oldest living man, there are ten living female supercentenarians who are older than him. Heading the list is American 115 year old  Edna Parker who was born on April 20, 1893 and is recognized as the world’s oldest living human. She inherited the record from Japan’s Yone Minagawa, who passed away in August 2007.

The Japanese are among the world's longest-lived people, with the number of those aged 100 or older at a record 36,276, a government report last week showed. Japanese women have topped the world's longevity ranks for 23 years, while men rank third behind Iceland and Hong Kong.



© 2006-2009. Growing Bolder Media Group. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.