ISEN, Japan, March 20 (UPI) -- A 114-year-old Japanese woman who still eats heartily and is in good health now is the world's oldest person in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Kamato Hongo of Isen, Japan, became the oldest person after American Maud Farris-Luse died at the age of 115 years and 56 days, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported Wednesday.
Hongo's longevity may have something to do with where she lives. She was born in 1887 in the Kagoshima prefecture, where the late Shigechiyo Izumi, a former world record holder, spent his life.
Izumi died in 1986 at the age of 120.
Japan also has the world's oldest man -- A 112-year-old retired Japanese silkworm breeder. Yukichi Chuganji worked until two years ago. He doesn't like vegetables but eats meat and drinks milk.
Japanese life expectancy is among the longest in the world. Japanese men average almost 78 years of life; women average more than 84 years, Kyodo reported. Of those women, one in every 20 will live to be 100, Kyodo reported, quoting Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
