Kahoru Furuya

BIOGRAPHY

Kahoru Furuya was born in Japan on 18 February 1908. She had four children (three daughters and one son).

She enjoyed growing vegetables in the fields past the age of 100. She moved into a Nursing Home at the age of 108.

Having been asked about the secret to her longevity for a public relations magazine in Izunokuni, she replied: “Eat breakfast every morning, eat fruit and yogurt every day, and do gymnastics.”

Furuya underwent surgery to have a pacemaker fitted in 2011 at the age of 103 after suffering from heart disease. She then underwent her first battery replacement surgery in 2015 and a second battery replacement surgery in March 2021 at the age of 113.

She was reported as the oldest living person in Shizuoka Prefecture, following the death of Hatsue Tachikawa on 22 December 2019. As of 2021, she was often in a wheelchair, but was still capable of standing and walking short distances.

Kahoru Furuya passed away from natural causes in Izunokuni City, Shizuoka, Japan on 25 December 2022 at the age of 114 years, 310 days.

RECOGNITION

On 2 February 2022, she became the oldest person to ever reside in Shizuoka, Japan, surpassing Yasu Akino’s age of 113 years, 348 days.

At the time of her death, she was the second-oldest validated living person in Japan (after Fusa Tatsumi), and the sixth-oldest living person in the world whose age is validated by the GRG (after Lucile Randon, Maria Branyas Morera, Tatsumi, Bessie Hendricks, and Edie Ceccarelli).

Furuya’s age was verified by Kengo Hirai, Yu Li, Yumi Yamamoto, and MHLW, Japan, and validated by the GRG on 20 December 2021.