World’s oldest man at 112 reveals secrets for a long life
A retired Japanese farmer was named the world’s oldest man on the 12th of February 2020 at the age of 112 years and 344 days.
Grinning Chitetsu Watanabe was given a certificate by the Guinness World Records at his care home in Niigata, the city in northern Japan where he was born in in 1907.
The father of five was thrilled with his award and says he still has his sweet tooth despite not having any. He also loves custard pudding and cream puffs as they don’t need to be chewed.
Chitetsu returned to his home town after 18 years in Taiwan, where four out of five of their children were born there. Taiwan was also where he married his wife, Mitsue.
According to Yoko Watanabe, wife off Tetsuo, the first son of Chitetsu, moving back was the one of the most difficult times for the family.
"Both Chitetsu and Tetsuo told me that getting to places and sourcing food was a struggle. Having to live under that circumstance with four young children must have been tough", Yoko said to the Guinness World Records.
However, Chitetsu hasn’t let anything get him down in his long life. When he spoke to a local paper, he explained that the secret to his long life was “not to get angry and keep a smile on your face”.
Yoko explained his temperament to the local paper.
"I've lived together with him for over 50 years, and I've never seen him raise his voice or get mad,” she said.
“He's also caring. When I was working on my patchwork hobby, he was the one who praised my work the most. I think having lived with a big family under one roof, mingling with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren helped keep a smile on his face as well."
Chitetsu now lives in a rest home and is not as active as he was before. However, up until last summer, his daily activity included exercises as a part of rehabilitation, origami, calligraphy and math exercises.
He is just four years shy of the record for the oldest man ever, which was held by Jiroemon Kimaru who was born on 19th April 1897 and passed away at the age of 116 and 54 days on the 12th of June 2013