She was born on May 23, 1908 in Osaka – four months before the Ford Model T was launched in the United States. She was one of three siblings and experienced world wars as well as pandemics.
In her older days, Itooka liked bananas and Calpis, a popular Japanese yogurt-flavored drink.
Itooka was recognized as the world’s oldest person after the Spanish Maria Branyas Morera died in August 2024 at the age of 117.
Now the world’s oldest person is considered to be the 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucaswho was born 16 days after Itooka.
As of September, Japan had more than 95,000 people who were 100 or older—88 percent of whom were women.
Of the country’s 124 million inhabitants, almost a third are 65 or older.