Nabi Tajima: Japanese supercentenarian and longevity record-holder

Nabi Tajima (1900–2018) was a Japanese supercentenarian who attained global attention as the world’s oldest living person in 2017–2018 and one of the last verified people born in 1900.

Overview

Nabi Tajima (4 August 1900 – 21 April 2018) was a Japanese supercentenarian who attracted international attention near the end of her life for her exceptional longevity. She reached the age of 117 years and 260 days. For several months she was widely recognized as the world’s oldest living person and, at the time of her death, was reported as the oldest person ever recorded from Asia.

Life and background

Public summaries of Tajima’s life focus on her advanced age and the records associated with it rather than extensive personal detail. Like many very old people, she lived through profound social and technological change during the 20th and early 21st centuries. Contemporary news reports and longevity databases documented her birth in 1900 and her death in 2018; beyond those dates she is most frequently cited in discussions of demographic history, gerontology and the cultural context of aging in Japan.

Age records and verification

Tajima became Japan’s oldest living person in 2015 after the passing of the previous title-holder, and she became the world’s oldest confirmed living person in September 2017 following the death of the Jamaican supercentenarian Violet Brown. She held the global title for about seven months until her own death in April 2018. At the time she was often described as the oldest Japanese person ever, and contemporary summaries noted that she was the oldest person ever from Asia.

Confirmed dates: born 4 August 1900 — died 21 April 2018.
Age at death: 117 years, 260 days.
World’s oldest living person: succeeded Violet Brown in 2017.
Listed alongside other Japanese longevity figures such as Kane Tanaka.

Historical and demographic significance

Because her birth year was 1900, many accounts described Tajima as among the last verified people born in the 19th century under the ordinal-century convention (which treats 1900 as the final year of the 19th century). Some commentators also referred to her as one of the last surviving members of the cohort sometimes labeled the "Lost Generation," people whose early adulthood coincided with the First World War era. Her longevity was discussed in the context of Japan’s high number of centenarians and the broader study of factors that contribute to long life, including healthcare, diet and social supports.

Legacy and notable facts

Tajima’s public importance rests mainly on her place within recorded longevity lists and on how her life helped draw attention to issues of aging, elder care and demographic change. Researchers and media that track supercentenarians use cases like hers to verify methods, refine age validation practices and illustrate shifts in global lifespan. Her succession and records are often cited alongside other well-documented supercentenarians and appear in longevity registers and retrospective reports about the oldest people of a given period.