Kane Tanaka (田中カ子, Tanaka Kane; born 2 January 1903) (née Ota) is a Japanese supercentenarian, who currently is the world's oldest verified living person at age 123 years, 59 days.^[1] Historically, her age places her as the third-oldest verified person and oldest verified Japanese and Asian person ever documented.^[2][3]

Kane Tanaka, née Ota, was born on 2 January 1903 in the village of Wajiro (now part of Higashi-ku, Fukuoka), on the southern island of Kyushu,^[4] the third daughter and seventh child of her parents, Kumayoshi and Kuma Ota.^[5][6] Kane was premature and raised on breast milk by wet nurses.^[7] Kane's childhood included events that took place during the waning years of the Meiji period, which ended when she was nine, in 1912.^[8] Kane married her cousin Hideo Tanaka in 1922, with whom she had two sons and two daughters, who were both born premature.^[9] The couple also adopted a third daughter during their marriage, the second daughter of Hideo's sister.^[10][5] Kane's eldest daughter died shortly after birth, while her adoptive daughter died in 1945 at the age of 23 of an unspecified illness.^[8][11] The couple worked in a store selling shiruko and udon noodles. Kane's husband was later drafted into the military service, which lasted from 1937 to 1939; one of her sons was captured towards the end of World War II, as he also served in the military, and was held prisoner in Siberia before being released and returning home in 1947.^[11]

After World War II, the couple continued working in the store, and Kane converted to Christianity, under the influence of pastors stationed by the United States military.^[6][12] Kane gave birth to a second daughter who died at the age of one in 1947.^[6] Retiring from working at their store at 63, Kane traveled to the United States in the 1970s to visit her relatives in California and Colorado.^[4][13] Her husband died in 1993 at the age of 90.^[6] Kane has been living in a nursing home in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka since September 2018, and is reportedly still in good health. She occasionally plays Othello, takes short walks in the facility's hallways, and her hobbies include calligraphy and calculations.^[14][15] She has five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.^[11]

Tanaka had suffered several major illnesses and was infected with paratyphoid fever with her adopted daughter at the age of 35.^[16] She underwent pancreatic cancer surgery at the age of 45, gallstone removal surgery at the age of 76, and cataract surgery at the age of 90.^[16] Kane was most recently diagnosed with colorectal cancer and underwent surgery when she was 103 years old.^[4] Her life and longevity were noted by her second son and his wife four years later when they published a book called: In Good and Bad Times, 107 Years Old.^[6] At the age of 114, she was interviewed by KBC in September 2017.^[17] Kane said she would like to live to the age of 120, crediting family, sleep, and hope for her longevity.^[4][18]

• List of Japanese supercentenarians
• Oldest people

• Telegraph Herald News in brief
• USA Today What countries have the longest life expectancies?
• San Francisco Chronicle News of the day from around the globe, July 27
• Las Vegas Review-Journal World’s oldest person dies at 117, now 115-year-old is oldest