NARA, Japan - Japan's oldest person, Shigeko Kagawa, a 115-year-old resident of Nara Prefecture, western Japan, died late last week, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Monday.
Fuyo Kishimoto, a 114-year-old woman in nearby Kyoto, is now the country's oldest person. The ministry said Kagawa died Thursday.
Born in 1911, Kagawa graduated from a medical school in 1934 and worked for about three years in the obstetrics and gynecology and internal medicine departments at a hospital in Osaka, according to a local medical association.
She opened her own clinic in Nara Prefecture in 1937. Kagawa continued practicing as an obstetrician-gynecologist and internist into her 80s, contributing to community health care. In 2021, she became the oldest torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympic torch relay.
Kagawa also served at the 1970 Osaka World Exposition, responding to medical emergencies.
In July 2025, when she became the oldest person living in Japan, she made a comment saying that she made house calls on foot, even late at night or on her days off.
"My longevity is rooted in my habit of walking so much for many years," she said.
