The world’s oldest man, retired teacher Sakarai Momoi from Japan, has died at the ripe old age of 112 due to kidney failure.
Japan’s healthy diet has long been attributed to a long life and Japanese people are known as some of the healthiest peoples in the world. The average life expectancy for a Japanese man is 78 whilst women average in at 85. The Japanese diet, which is high in Omega-3, has routinely been praised for its health merits.
Mr. Momoi, who was born in 1903 in the Fukushima prefecture went on to become a teacher before moving on to Saitama where he worked as a high school principal as reported by the Belfast Telegraph.
Momoi is known as a ‘supercenturian’, a person who has exceeded 100 years of age according to BBC News. In August he was presented with an honorary plaque from the Guinness Book of Records to celebrate his long life. Japan is famous for producing long-living citizens. The world’s former oldest woman, Misao Okawa, lived to the age of 117 and was also Japanese. At present, the world’s oldest woman is Susannah Mushatt Jones, an American citizen.
The late Momoi was a cultured man of many interests who enjoyed reading, traveling with his wife, calligraphy and Chinese poetry.
When Momoi was presented with his certificate he exclaimed that he wanted to live “for about two more years.”
I want to live for about two more years.
According to The Guardian, Momoi associated his long life with healthy eating and lots of sleep. He passed away in a Tokyo care home. According to his family, his health only began to deteriorate a fortnight ago.
Japan’s aging population is known to be causing concern for authorities with 126 million people aged 65 or over and the number set to rise in coming years. Following Momoi’s death, the world’s oldest man is Yasutaro Koide, born a month later than Momoi and also Japanese.
