Society

Hyogo Woman, 116, Becomes Oldest Living Person

TOKYO, Aug 21 (News On Japan) - With the passing of a 117-year-old woman from Spain, a 116-year-old woman from Hyogo Prefecture has become the world's oldest living person.

Maria Branyas Morera, recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest person in the world, passed away on the 19th at the age of 117 in Catalonia, Spain. Her family revealed the news on social media on the 20th.

According to Spanish media, Branyas was born in San Francisco, USA, in 1907, four years after the Wright brothers' first powered flight. She moved to Spain during her childhood and experienced two world wars and the Spanish Civil War. She had been living in a nursing home for about 20 years.

Branyas maintained communication with around 18,000 followers on the former Twitter platform, now known as X, with the help of her daughter. She passed away peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by family.

The Gerontology Research Group, an American organization that studies people over 110 years old, known as "supercentenarians," announced that with Branyas's passing, Tomiko Itooka, a 116-year-old woman from Ashiya City in Hyogo Prefecture, is now the world's oldest living person.

Itooka has been Japan's oldest living person since the death of Fusa Tatsumi on December 12th, 2023.

Source: ANN

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