The oldest person the world will be turning a grand 117 years old on March 5th. Since her birth in 1898, Misao Okawa has survived multiple wars, major technological advancements (hello, Internet) and serious world events.
Okawa, the daughter of kimono merchants, suitably wore a pink kimono decked out in cherry blossom prints and a pink daisy pinned in her hair to her televised celebratory party one day before her actual birthday.
“It seemed rather short,” Okawa said nonchalantly about her lengthy life. When asked her secret to longevity, she responded, “I wonder about that too”, the Associated Press reports. Other elderly women have speculated — perhaps jokingly, perhaps not — that avoiding men might be the secret to a long life. Okawa, on the other hand, married her husband, Yukio, in 1919, and went on to have three children with him. He died in 1931 and Okawa is now close with her four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
In 2013, the Guinness World Records recognized Okawa as the world’s oldest person. According to her nursing home in Osaka, Japan, she is still extraodinarly healthy and eating well.
According to the Associated Press, Japan has more than 58,000 centenarians living within their country (the most in the world), with about 87% of them being women. Japan attributes their long life expectancy to a healthy diet, regular physical activity and extended work years. So if you’re looking to celebrate a birthday in the triple digits, you could either avoid men … or move to Japan.
