Japanese confirmed as world's oldest living man

Masazo Nonaka receives a certificate for the Guinness World Records from Erika Ogawa (left), VP of Guinness World Records, Japan. Pic/AFP

Masazo Nonaka from Japan was recognised yesterday as the world's oldest man at the ripe old age of 112, as his family revealed his secret: sweets and hot baths.

Nonaka, who was born on July 25, 1905 - just months before Albert Einstein published his theory of special relativity - received a certificate from Guinness World Records at home on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

The supercentenarian lives with his family, which manages a hot springs inn. "He needs a wheelchair to move, but he is in good condition," said Yuko Nonaka, his granddaughter.

"He loves eating any kinds of sweets - Japanese or western style," she said. "He reads newspapers everyday and often soaks in the hot springs." He has seven brothers and one sister who live nearby in the town of Ashoro on Hokkaido. He married Hatsuno in 1931 and the couple had five children, according to Guinness World Records. Nonaka has officially taken the title after Francisco Nunez Olivera from Spain died in February aged 113, the organisation said.

Guinness World Records is currently investigating possible contenders for the title of oldest living person as no one has been recognised since Violet Brown from Jamaica died in July 2017, aged 117.

Japan, known for the longevity of its people, has been home to several oldest title holders, including Jiroemon Kimura, who died in June 2013 at the age of 116. There are around 68,000 people aged 100 or older in the country, the government said last year.

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