The world's oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, has died. Nabi Tajima died of old age in a hospital Saturday evening (21 APRIL 2018) in the town of Kikai in southern Japan, town official Susumu Yoshiyuki confirmed. She had been hospitalized since January. Tajima, born on Aug. 4, 1900, was the last known person born in the 19th century. She reportedly had more than 160 descendants, including great-great-great grandchildren.
Her town of Kikai is in Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands. Video shown on Japanese television showed Tajima moving her hands to the beat of music played on traditional Japanese instruments at a ceremony to mark the achievement.