World’s oldest man dies at 112 — days after bagging Guinness record

Chitetsu Watanabe, world’s oldest living man, has passed on. He died at 112.

According to Japan Times, Watanabe died on February 23, at his nursing home in Niigata, where he had lived for years.

His death comes less than 11 days after he was confirmed the oldest living (male) by the Guinness World Records (GWR) on February 12.

It was gathered that he died following a brief illness which made him unable to eat — days after he received his GWR’s certificate.

Congratulations to Japan's Chitetsu Watanabe who has been confirmed as the world’s oldest man living at 112 years old > https://t.co/rSAz65nIl1pic.twitter.com/G7BVIy1o0y

— GuinnessWorldRecords (@GWR) February 12, 2020

Born on March 5, 1907, as the oldest of eight children, Watanabe’s active years spanned various fields ranging from agriculture to military.

The world’s oldest living man moved to Taiwan, where he worked on a sugar cane plantation before working with the Japanese government’s agriculture office until retirement.

Watanabe spent his post-retirement years with his family building a new home and cultivating an array of fruits and vegetables until he was 104.

His death, which comes about 11 days to his 113th birthday, means he failed to break the world’s oldest man ever record, held by Jiroemon Kimura, also a Japanese.

Born on 1897, Kimura died in June 2013 at 116 — four years older than Watanabe.

It also means Watanabe failed to surpass GWR’s record for oldest living person, held by Kane Tanaka, Japanese woman, born on January 2, 1903.

Watanabe had recently revealed that the secret to his longevity was “not to get angry but keep a smile on your face.”

He is survived by his five children, 12 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.