Sakari Momoi, the man who held the Guinness World Record for the World's Oldest Man, has died at the age of 112. The retired teacher and high school principal passed away due to kidney failure in a care facility in Tokyo on Sunday.
Born in February 1903 in Fukushima, Momoi's birth took place at the same year the teddy bear was introduced. It was also the year when Orville Wright carried out the first powered, heavier-than-air flight, reports The Guardian.
He had been awarded by the Guinness World Records as the oldest man alive in August 2014. After receiving his certificate, he lightly told reporters "I want to live for about two more years," according to The Telegraph.
Momoi was known as an avid reader, especially Chinese poetry. He also loved travelling, which he enjoyed immensely during the days when his late wife was still alive.
He worked as a teacher, and later on got promoted as a high school principal in local schools in his home prefecture. He also worked in neighboring Saitama.
The supercentenarian has stated that eating healthy and getting plenty of sleep were his secrets to living a long life. He was very active in the care facility where he resided, practicing calligraphy and actively taking part in recreational activities, reports BBC News.
A local official spoke of Momoi's passing in a statement. "We heard from his family... that his health worsened one or two weeks ago," the official said.
The title of World's Oldest Man has now passed to another Japanese resident, Yasutaro Koide, who is also 112 years old and just a month younger than Momoi.
