On March 9, a Japanese woman by the name of Kane Tanaka was officially confirmed as being oldest woman alive at the age of 116 years and 66 days. She was born on January 2, 1903, prematurely and was raised on breast milk from women other than her mother. She was born in the same year that the Wright Brothers made their first successful attempt at sustained flight. She lived through both World Wars and was old enough to remember both of them. Her family and the mayor came to her rest home to celebrate her entrance into the Guinness World Records.

  Tanaka was the seventh out of eight children born to her parents. She now lives in a rest home in southwest Japan, usually wakes up at six in the morning, studies math and writes poetry, and is also a fan of the board game Othello. Tanaka also usually drinks three cans of coffee or carbonated drinks per day and other nutritional drinks.

  She is also the last surviving Japanese person that was born in 1903. In addition, the two previous oldest women alive were Japanese as well. The Japanese typically depict longevity due to a diet heavy with fish, rice, and vegetables, all foods that are low in fat. Also, older people are highly respected in Japan, so many older people stay active well into their eighties, an age that is associated with canes, wheelchairs, and dependence in the US.

  Tanaka was diagnosed with colon cancer when she was 103, but she survived. One of her great-nephews said that she credits her longevity and successful battle with cancer at such an old age to her faith in the Kami, the spirits that are worshiped in the Shinto religion, which is popular in Japan.  

   Kane Tanaka has made it this far with her healthy diet and her faith, and she keeps her mind active by studying math and writing poetry; at this rate, she has a good chance of becoming the oldest woman ever in just six years!