World's Second Oldest Woman Aged 116 Dies After Eating Her Favourite Meal

The world's second-oldest woman and Japan's oldest living person has died at the age of 116 at a nursing home in Kashiwara, Metro reported. Fusa Tatsumi died from old age on Tuesday, December 12 at the care facility after eating bean-paste jelly, which is her favourite meal.

''Tatsumi died on Tuesday at the age of 116 at a healthcare facility in Osaka,'' an official said in Osaka's Kashiwara city.

Tatsumi, who lived through two world wars and multiple pandemics, was recognised as Japan's oldest person after Kane Tanaka passed away last year at 119. Guinness World Records officially acknowledged Tanaka's status as the world's oldest person in April 2022.

She became only the 27th person in history to reach the age of 116 and was only the seventh Japanese person to do so.

Born in 1907, Tatsumi raised three children with her husband, a farmer, in Osaka, local broadcaster MBS reported. Notably, she had recently spent most of her days in bed at the nursing home and regularly greeted the employees working there. As per reports, Fusa Tatsumi suffered no prior health problems and had never been seriously ill or injured except when she broke her thigh bone in a fall in her 70s.

She also enjoyed gardening and practised the art of Japanese tea ceremony and flower arrangement after she graduated from elementary school. The 116-year-old woman's love for gardening continued until she entered a nursing home at the age of 106. 

'''I think she did great to get to this age,'' Tatsumi's eldest son, Kanji, 76, told local media after the supercentenarian's death.

Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura offered condolences on the social media site X, recalling a party he attended to celebrate Tatsumi's longevity in September.

"I still remember how healthy Ms Fusa Tatsumi was," Yoshimura said. "I sincerely pray for her soul."

Japan has one of the world's highest life expectancies and has been home to several people recognised as among the oldest humans to have ever lived.