She was born on May 23, 1908, in Osaka – four months before the Ford Model T was launched in the USA. She was one of three siblings and experienced both world wars and pandemics.
In her older days, Itooka liked bananas and Calpis, a popular Japanese drink with a yogurt taste.
Itooka was recognized as the world's oldest person after Spanish Maria Branyas Morera died in August 2024 at the age of 117.
Now, the world's oldest person is considered to be the 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days after Itooka.
In September, Japan had more than 95,000 people who were 100 years or older – 88 percent of them were women.
Of the country's 124 million inhabitants, nearly a third are 65 years or older.
