Successful Aging Profiles – Tomoji Tanabe

At Changing Aging, we are proud to announce our latest feature titled ‘Successful Aging Stars.’Each month, we will profile those who are living examples of successful aging, from the famous, to the not so famous.These profiles could include just about anyone and we proudly invite our readers to nominate any successful agers to be profiled here via the comments below.Our first profile is on 113 year old Tomoji Tanabe.Tomoji Tanabe, who was born in 1895, celebrated his 113th birthday last Thursday in Japan. He told reporters he wants to ‘live another five years or so.’ That’s changed a bit since last year when he said he wanted to live ‘for infinity.’

Japan has one of the world’s longest life expectancies, nearly 86 years for women and 79 years for men, which is often attributed to the country’s healthy diet rich in fish and rice.The number of Japanese living past 100 has more than doubled in the last six years, reaching a record high of 36,000 people this year. The country’s centenarian ranks are dominated by women, who make up 86 percent of the total.Japan’s centenarian population is expected to reach nearly 1 million – the world’s largest – by 2050, according to U.N. projections.Tomoji has hit quite the milestone, but there are actually 10 people older than he is. The world’s oldest person is 115-year-old Edna Parker, who was born on April 20, 1893, and lives in Indiana in a nursing home.Next month, Changing Aging will profile 85 year old Kate Stahl who works tirelessly in her quest to provide reasonably priced medication to seniors, in a piece sponsored by Ecumen’s latest whitepaper Long Term Care Financing Reform: An Incredible Opportunity for Candidates Who Desire Positive Change in America.