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World’s oldest man dies in Japan at age 113

Posted at 4:08 PM, Jan 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-20 16:08:56-05

A 113-year-old Japanese man, Masazo Nonaka, recognized in April 2018 by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest male, died on Sunday, according to Japanese public service broadcaster NHK.

Masazo Nonaka of Japan received a certificate for the Guinness World Records’ oldest male person living title in Ashoro, Hokkaido prefecture on April 10, 2018.

Nonaka, a resident of Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, was born on July 25, 1905.

Nonaka’s family noticed on Sunday morning that he wasn’t breathing. His doctor confirmed that Nonaka had died. The family said that he seemed to be fine on Saturday, according to NHK.

Guiness World Records named Nonaka as the world’s oldest man in April 2018 when he was 112 years and 259 days old. He spent his retirement reading newspapers, eating sweets and cakes, and watching TV, particularly sumo wrestling, Guinness World Records wrote.

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He said at the time he believed his longevity was due to soaking in hot springs and eating sweets, but his daughter said it had more to do with living in a way that doesn’t bring stress, the site wrote.

The oldest ever living man was Jiroemon Kimura, a Japanese man who lived to be 116 years and 54 days old before his death in June 2013.