Tomoji Tanabe

Tomoji Tanabe
Birth:	18 September 1895 Miyakonojo, Miyazaki, Japan
Death:	19 June 2009 Miyakonojo, Miyazaki, Japan
Age:	113 years, 274 days
Country:	JPN
Validated

Tomoji Tanabe (18 September 1895 – 19 June 2009) was a Japanese supercentenarian who was, at the time of death, the world's oldest male. On his death, Henry Allingham became the world's oldest living man. He became the oldest validated living man on 28 January 2007, after the death of 115-year old Emiliano Mercado del Toro, who was over 4 years older than him and despite being the youngest man to hold the title since John Painter (over 7 years before), he kept the title for over 2 years and reached 113 until his death from a heart disease.

Tanabe lived his life in Japan, and, at age 112, was extremely healthy. He maintained a careful, alcohol-free diet, and until near his death took long walks by himself every day. In his last years, distant supercentenarian watchers naively predicted he would one day be the oldest living person in the world due to his apparent health. He did manage to rank among the 100 oldest persons and the 10 oldest men ever documented. He is still in the Top 12 of the oldest verified man ever. He also worked as a land surveyor and civil engineer.

Gallery

Tomoji Tanabe at age 111.

Tomoji Tanabe at age 112.

Tomoji Tanabe at age 113.

World's Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • T • E)

Sylvester Melvin • Joseph Saint-Amour • William Fullingim • John Mosley Turner Friedrich Wedeking • Frederick Butterfield • Jean Teillet • Charlie Nelson • Charlie Phillips • Mathew Beard • Joe Thomas • Herman Smith-Johannsen • Alphaeus Philemon Cole • John Evans • Henri Perignon • James Wiggins • Frederick Frazier • Josep Armengol-Jover • Christian Mortensen • Johnson Parks • Walter Richardson • Denzo Ishizaki • Antonio Urrea-Hernandez • John Painter • Antonio Todde • Yukichi Chuganji • Joan Riudavets-Moll • Fred Hale • Emiliano Mercado del Toro • Tomoji Tanabe • Henry Allingham • Walter Breuning • Jiroemon Kimura • Salustiano Sanchez • Arturo Licata • Alexander Imich • Sakari Momoi • Yasutaro Koide • Israel Kristal • Francisco Nunez Olivera • Masazo Nonaka • Chitetsu Watanabe • Bob Weighton • Emilio Flores Marquez

Japan's Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • E)

Ikumatsu Matsuura • Masakichi Kai • Goro Usuyama • Shizuo Jinjiang • Kokuzo Iwate • Eisaku Takada • Hisaharu Arai • Chojiro Goto • Yozotaro Yoshikawa • Masutaro Sato • Takataro Hiragushi • Mataichi Ono • Shotaro Tanaka • Rinzo Shimizu • Koji Onishi • Inasaku Abe • Mokotaru Osada • Eiju Tsuru • Kiichi Fujiwara • Nisaburo Matsuyama • Shimetaro Hara • Gihei Oka • Gengan Tonaki • Denzo Ishizaki • Sadayoshi Tanabe • Yukichi Chuganji • Kameni Nakamura • Minsho Ozawa • Totaro Murakami • Kohachi Shigetaka • Nijiro Tokuda • Tomoji Tanabe • Jiroemon Kimura • Jokichi Ikarashi • Sakari Momoi • Yasutaro Koide • Masamitsu Yoshida • Masazo Nonaka • Chitetsu Watanabe • Issaku Tomoe • Shojiro Shirai • Motoi Fukunishi • Mikizo Ueda