Tanaka celebrated her 117th birthday with a party on Sunday (January 5) with friends and staff at a nursing home.
In the video broadcast on local TVQ Kyushu, the old lady of Japan ate a piece of birthday cake and said: "It's really good. I want to eat more", accompanied by a bright smile.
Mrs. Kane Tanaka's birthday is January 2. Last year, on March 9, the Japanese woman was recognized as the longest-lived person in the world, aged 116 and 66 days, according to the world record by UNESCO.
Mrs. Tanaka was born prematurely in 1903. She married Mr. Hideo Tanaka in 1922. The couple had 4 children born and adopted another child.
Reuters said that Tanaka's age record is a symbol of Japan's rapidly aging population while the birth rate has decreased rapidly. This raises concerns about labor shortages and future economic growth prospects.
The number of newborns born in Japan fell about 5.9% last year, the first time it fell below 900,000 since the government began collecting data in 1899, according to the Ministry of Welfare of Japan.
