A Japanese pensioner aged 112 years and 259 days has been certified as the world’s oldest living man.
Masazo Nonaka received the certificate from Guinness World Records at a ceremony in his home in Ashoro, on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.
The sweet-toothed supercentenarian, whose family has run a hot springs inn in northern Japan for four generations, celebrated the big news with an appropriately big cake.
Mr Nonaka’s family suggested he may owe his longevity to his penchant for soaking in northern Japan’s hot springs and indulging in cake and sweets.
Mr Nonaka was born at the turn of the 20th century, on 25 July 1905, shortly before Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity.
He was raised in a large family and his parents eventually handed over the inn for him to run. The inn, which has also stood the test of time and is now 105 years old, is currently being run by his granddaughter Yuko.
Mr Nonaka’s favourite hobby is soaking in the hot springs, but he also loves eating sweets – particularly cakes.
He has a fondness for samurai dramas and sumo wrestling, and spends his days watching TV. He also enjoys poring over the newspaper after eating breakfast every morning and spending time with his family at home or in their B&B.
He has outlived all seven of his siblings – as well as his wife and two of their five children.
Mr Nonaka still manages to move around by himself in a wheelchair, his family members say.
Wearing a grey kimono-style jacket and similarly coloured knitted hat, he cracked a smile as he posed for a group photo with his family.
According to Japan’s national public broadcaster NHK, he devoured the cake and branded it “delicious”.
Erika Ogawa, the Vice President for Japan for Guinness World Records, visited him at his home on Tuesday to present him with the certificate for his longevity.
He takes the title of world’s oldest man after Francisco Nuñez Olivera from Spain passed away in February, at the age of 113.
Guinness World Records is currently looking into possible contenders for the title of the oldest living person, as no one has been recognised since Violet Brown of Jamaica died at the age of 117 in July last year.
A 117-year-old Japanese woman, Nabi Tajima (who is currently the oldest living person in Japan), is expected to be certified as the world’s new oldest person.
Japan is famed for the longevity of its citizens and has been home to a number of oldest title holders, including Jiroemon Kimura who died in June 2013 at the age of 116.
Last year the government said there are around 68,000 people aged 100 or older in the country.
Japan has one of the highest populations of elderly citizens anywhere in the world, and is increasingly feeling the strain of a rapidly ageing society.
According to a report by the University of Pensylvania titled “The graying of Japan”, those over 65 now account for roughly a quarter of the country’s population.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
