Chitetsu Watanabe facts for kids
Chitetsu Watanabe (born March 5, 1907 – died February 23, 2020) was a Japanese farmer. He was known for being a supercentenarian, which means someone who lives to be 110 years or older. When he passed away, he was 112 years and 355 days old. At that time, he was the oldest living man in the world. He was also the oldest man ever from Niigata Prefecture in Japan.
His Life Story
Watanabe was born on March 5, 1907. His birthplace was a village called Uragawara in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. This village is now part of the city of Joetsu. His parents were farmers.
He went to Niigata Prefectural Takada Agricultural High School. After school, he moved to Taiwan. There, he worked for a sugar company. He stayed in Taiwan until the end of a big war. Then, he returned to Joetsu.
He lived with his son's family for many years. In 2015, when he was 108 years old, he got sick with the flu. After that, he moved to a retirement home.
Watanabe had a large family. He had 5 children, 12 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. He also had one great-great-grandchild. This youngest family member was born on January 15, 2019. Just five days later, Watanabe became the oldest living Japanese man. This happened after another very old man, Masazō Nonaka, passed away.
World's Oldest Man
On October 22, 2019, a 114-year-old German man named Gustav Gerneth died. After this, Chitetsu Watanabe became the oldest known living man in the world.
He shared some secrets to his long life. He said he laughed often and tried to forget bad things. He also said it was important not to get angry. He wanted to try his best to eat delicious, healthy food until he was 120. He liked sweet foods.
Guinness World Records officially recognized him as the world's oldest living man. This happened on February 12, 2020. He passed away just eleven days later. He died on the evening of February 23, 2020. This was only eleven days before his 113th birthday. After his death, an Englishman named Robert Weighton became the oldest living man.
Images for kids
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Chiyono Hasegawa (1896–2011) was another Japanese supercentenarian. She lived in Saga Prefecture and is shown here in September 2010. She lived to be 115 years and 12 days old.
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Supercentenarios japoneses para niños
