The former teacher said healthy eating and plenty of sleep was the key to his longevity

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The world’s oldest man, Sakari Momoi, who cited healthy eating and a good night’s sleep as the secrets to a very long life, has died aged 112, Japanese media said.

Momoi, whose was born in Fukushima on 5 February 1903, was not alone in Japan in enjoying remarkable longevity: his successor is a compatriot, Yasutaro Koide, who was born just over a month later.

Momoi was born the year the teddy bear was introduced and the Wright brothers made their first powered flight. He was 42 when the second world war ended.

Local media said Momoi died at a care home in Tokyo where he had lived for many years.

“We heard from his family ... that his health worsened one or two weeks ago,” a local official said.

Momoi fell short of his longevity goal, revealed when he was awarded a plaque by Guinness World Records to mark his status as the world’s oldest man in August 2014.

Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and silver tie, he told reporters: “I want to live for about two more years.”

The former high school principal remained active well into his twilight years, practising calligraphy and joining in recreational activities at the hospital where he lived.

The title of the world’s oldest man now belongs to Koide, a resident of the central Japanese city of Nagoya, who was born in March 1903, according to the health ministry.

The world’s oldest person, New York resident Susannah Mushatt Jones, celebrated her 116th birthday on Monday. Born on 6 July 1899, the former housekeeper is known simply as “T” to her 100 nieces and nephews.

A recent holder of that title was another Japanese, Misao Okawa, who died in April this year, weeks after celebrating her 117th birthday.

Like Momoi, Okawa put her long life down to plenty of sleep and a varied diet.

She ate mackerel sushi at least once a month, but also enjoyed occasional bowls of ramen noodles, which many would consider less healthy.

Japan is home to more than 58,000 people aged 100 or over, 87% of whom are women, according to official statistics.

The country’s elderly population is expected to soar in the coming decades. A quarter of its 126 million people are 65 or over, according to the most recent census, and the proportion is expected to grow to about 40% by the middle of the century.

