A 114-year-old Japanese woman, the daughter of a kimono maker, was formally recognized as the world's oldest woman, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
Misao Okawa said Wednesday that she was "very happy" to receive the recognition and a certificate from Guinness World Records.
Misao Okawa was born in 1898 and now lives in the western city of Osaka.
The recognition by Guinness World Records was a nice gift for Okawa, who will mark her 115th birthday next week. According to the Gerontology Research Institute, which verifies age information for Guinness, she was born March 5, 1898.
According to Gerontology Research Group, 12 people born in the 19th century are still alive, 11 of them women. The world's oldest man is Jiroemon Kimura, a 115-year-old Japanese man living in Kyoto.
According to The Associated Press, Okawa dined on her favorite meal, mackerel sushi, and took a brief nap in her wheelchair to celebrate her honor. The Osaka resident even shared her secrets to longevity with the crowd, which she claims is all about diet.
Yahoo reported Okawa only eats food made in Japan, perhaps because there are more than 50,000 living centenarians in Japan who swear by a healthy diet of vegetables, fish, rice and soy.
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