By: Maureen Meosky
Last Tuesday, Yasutaro Koide, the world’s oldest living man, passed away. Born March 13, 1903, in Fukui, Japan, he died at 112 years and 312 days, only two months short of his 113th birthday. Koide worked most of his life as a tailor at a men’s clothing store in Japan and is survived by seven children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
According to Wikipedia, when asked about his secret to long life, Koide said that “the best thing is to not overdo,” also recommending refraining drinking or smoking. He died of pneumonia and the heart failure caused by it. Up until his demise, Yasutaro Koide was fully functional, still able to read newspapers without glasses and eat without the aide of dentures. He never entered a nursing home, residing at home with his daugher for the final five years of his life.
Guinness World Record sent their condolences to Koide’s family and friends, the Vice President of its Japan branch saying that she felt “very honored,” according to CNN, to have met him.
Koide’s possible successor as the world’s oldest living man is receiving much attention from the press as a Holocaust survivor from Israel. His family is unsure that they can provide ample verification of his age, a marriage certificate from the 1920s evidently insufficient.
When Yisrael Kristal heard the news that he may now hold the title, he reportedly replied, “The joy of my old age.”
A candy maker claimed to be born in Poland in 1903, the undoubtedly old man’s family has said that his secret to cheating death is similar to Yasutaro Koide’s – everything in moderation. Kristal began work at his father’s candy store at age seventeen, but his career path was quickly interrupted by the outbreak of World War 2 and the destruction of his home as he knew it.
Regardless of Kristal’s actual age, many have been affected by his story; Kristal describes himself as having been “saved by God.”
Towards the end of his interview when being crowned the world’s oldest man, Yasutaro Koide concluded his advice towards life longevity, which turned out to not be advice so much as a token of knowledge gleaned from his nearly 113 years. “It’s no great bargain,” he said, according to IBT News. “Everyone has their own good fortune. It’s from Heaven. There are no secrets.”
